Shadows In The Sun
by GCatsPjs
Summary: Part four of the Saints in the Shadows Saga.
1. Its Never Easy

_**This is the fourth (and final?) installation of the Saint in the Shadows Saga. It is recommended that you read the three stories that come before this one.**_

**_1. Saint in the Shadows_**

**_2. Spaces In Between_**

**_3. Shades of Grace_**

**_When we left our characters in Shades of Grace, we were at Thanksgiving dinner (Late November). This story will jump around a bit in time, so please be aware of the date at the beginning of each chapter or group of chapters. I will be answering all of your questions as I write, so feel free to ask them. If you want to know baby due dates, or anything like that, we'll learn everything in time, so as long as you're patient, you'll get any and all of your questions answered. :)_**

* * *

**Shadows In The Sun**

_April 29th_

Booth stood over the hole in the ground that a set of remains had just been removed from as he looked down at the scientist at the bottom. "Are you just about done down there, Hodgins? It's getting warm out here," Booth, as he glanced over at the FBI vehicles, wondering why Harding hadn't arrived yet.

"No one says you have to stand there and watch over me, Booth."

"I'd rather be standing here telling you to get the show on the road than sitting in the car while you play with dirt," Booth said, kicking a tiny bit of dirt onto the bug man, who looked up and glared.

"Not cool."

"I thought you liked dirt," he quipped, noting the irritated look on his friend's face, he sighed. "Sorry, I'm not sleeping very well, so I'm a bit snippy."

"Baby isn't even here yet and it's already keeping you up all night," Hodgins laughed.

"Yeah, well… hurry up so I can get home for lunch and take a quick nap," Booth sighed and walked away from the hole, just as his phone began to ring. He checked the time and noted that it was nearly lunch time, and expected a phone call from Temperance to pick up something for her to eat. He knew that bed rest was not something she was enjoying, and that the most he could do was try to keep her as happy as possible, because Temperance Brennan did not stay still for long.

"Booth," he said nonchalantly, walking toward the car, he glanced to Hodgins before expecting to hear Temperance's voice. What he was not expecting to hear was the panicked voice of his son on the other end of the line.

"Dad! You have to get here now!"

"What's going on, Parker?" He asked, his heart rate picking up double time as he heard the panic in the boy's voice.

"Dad! You need to get here now! Please! Please!" Parker exclaimed. "Bones is having the baby!"

"Parker, relax… what do you mean Bones is having the baby?" He asked, pacing in small circles, he saw Hodgins' head pop from the hole in the ground.

"She's freaking out, Dad! She's freaking out, and I'm freaking out, and Antonia's freaking out! We're all freaking out!" He shouted into the phone. "Dad, please! You have to get here!"

"Okay… its way too early for her to be going into labor, Parker. You need to call the ambulance… the number is on the refrigerator for the doctor, you need to…"

"We're not at the house, Dad!"

His son's word then went straight to his heart like a bullet. "You're not at the house? What do you mean you're not at the house?" Booth asked, watching Hodgins pull out his cell phone, he nodded his head and indicated he needed him to call 911. Hodgins listened on the line as he watched Booth's cues.

"We're at the FBI building, Dad! We're in the parking garage! Dad, she's crying!" Parker's voice was cracking, and Booth could feel the panic in the boy's shouting.

"You're at the Hoover? What the hell are you doing there?" Booth exclaimed angrily. "Let me talk to Bones, Parker!"

"She can't talk, she can't talk… She's crying." Parker said into the line. "I'm sorry, Dad… this is all my fault! This is all my fault!" He exclaimed. Booth could hear voices in the background, shouting and what he was sure was Antonia crying. "No, Antonia! Come here!" Parker shouted, his face obviously away from the phone. "I have to go, Dad… please get here soon!" He exclaimed as the line went dead. When the line went dead, Booth felt as if his heart had stopped.

"Booth, where are they?" Hodgins asked for the fifth time.

"Hoover parking garage… she probably parked in the visitors section," he stated, dumbfounded. He heard Hodgins rattling off something into the phone, but it was all just in the background as he felt his stomach twisting violently, and his breathing became erratic as he started to pant.

"Booth?" Hodgins said, smacking the man's arm as he turned a pale white color, his eyes staring off into nothing. "Booth, they're on their way to get her."

"It's too early," He whispered, the words barely audible. "It's too early."

"Booth, come on… look at me, man… the ambulance is on its way… she'll be okay, the baby will be okay!" Hodgins insisted.

"We need to get there," Booth grunted, suddenly very much in control. He turned to look toward the agents, he grabbed Hodgins by the back of his shirt, pushing him toward the SUV. "Get in the truck, you're driving!" He exclaimed as Hodgins nodded and ran toward the SUV. Booth shouted out orders for the agents to secure the site, and before he could even take a breath, he was in the SUV with Hodgins, with the siren blaring as the tires kicked up dirt and gravel as it disappeared from the crime scene, and toward the city.


	2. Have I Ever Let You Down?

**April 29th (cont.)**

Temperance was on the ground leaning against the side of the SUV, breathing heavily as tears poured down her face, her back was sending forceful shocks through her body, and the contractions were becoming more and more difficult to control the pain for them. Her vision was blurred from the pain, and all she could hear was her own sobbing as she tried to remain conscious.

"Parker!" She exclaimed, watching the vision of the boy running past her, after something smaller. "Antonia, please sit down!" She exclaimed, her head lifting to stare at the ceiling as she tried to focus on something. "Parker, please…" She sobbed.

"What do you need, Bones?" Parker asked, his cool hands on her face, she was finally able to focus on something, she focused on his brown eyes. "Bones?"

"Your dad…"

"I called him."

"Call him." She whimpered.

"I called him, Bones… you need to breathe, okay? I've watched tv shows where the girl is gonna have a baby, and they always say to breathe, so breathe, okay? Don't forget."

"Parker…" She cried out. "Please… Toni."

"She's right there…" Parker said, seeing his sister out of the corner of his eyes as she peeked around the side of the car. Her eyes were wide with terror.

"Take care of her… Please?" She whimpered. "I need you to take care of her."

"I got her, Bones… don't worry about it."

"Call your dad… tell him it's an emergency."

"Dad's coming, Bones… he's coming. He called an ambulance," Parker said, grabbing her hand, she tried to focus on his eyes. "Just watch me, okay?"

"Parker!" She shouted as she gritted her teeth, trying not to hold the boy's hand too hard, she dug her nails into the ground as she tried to control the oncoming rush of pain, breathing deep breaths as Parker spoke in a soft, even tone.

"Bones, you have to stop yelling…Toni is scared."

"It hurts…" She whined, not caring that she was complaining to a twelve year old boy, but she needed to say it. "Baby, mommy is okay." She panted. "Mommy is okay… you have to listen to Parker, baby… please?"

Antonia remained absolutely silent from the side of the car, but Parker could see her wide eyed expression, and knew that she wasn't going to move. "I think she's okay, Bones… I'll watch her… I promise."

"She's afraid of ambulances." Temperance said, cringing as the pain in her back shot through her again, her head fell back as she tried to stay upright. "She hates ambulances."

"She hates ambulances?" Parker asked.

"You need to keep her calm when the ambulance gets here…don't worry about me… okay? Just… just watch her." Temperance whispered. "Don't worry about why… just… know, okay? She might try to run…"

"I promise I'll take care of her. I promise." Parker said, noticing that his words were calming her, and she believed them. He watched her eyes close; breathing heavily as she seemed to be holding back the pain she was feeling. "Bones, you're going to be okay, right?"

"I'll be okay, Parker… You're doing a good job." She whispered, the sweat on her face showing that she was holding in more pain than she was allowing to be seen. "This isn't your fault, okay?"

"If I didn't tell you, you wouldn't have come here…"

"If you didn't tell me, I'd have been upset that you didn't tell me." She said, lifting her hand to run her hand through the boy's hair, allowing her hand to settle on his cheek as she stared into his eyes intensely, the blue irises were dark with the pain that she was trying to resist. "You are your father's son, Parker… and nobody is going to take you away from him again, you got that?" she asked, and watched as he nodded his head, his eyes glancing to Antonia and back to Bones.

"I love you, Bones." He said softly, wrapping his arms around her carefully as she hugged him back.

"I love you too, Parker." She said softly as she felt another wave of pain starting to sneak up. "Get your dad on the phone for me, please… I need to talk to him before the ambulance gets here."

"Okay." He said, pulling from her arms, he watched her with a concerned glance as he pulled the phone from his pocket. "Just breathe, okay?"

"I'll breathe, I promise." She said, nodding her head as she cringed a little, swallowing as she felt the pain of the next contraction slam into her, Parker dialed the phone quickly.

"It went straight to voice mail…" Parker said, looking to Temperance.

"Keep trying, please?" She said, trying not to sob as the tears rolled down her cheek. "Please keep trying!" She said as Parker nodded and continued to try to get his father on the phone.

* * *

In Booth's SUV, Booth was on the phone, trying to get Harding on the line as Hodgins drove deftly through the streets of Washington D.C. "This thing handles like a dream!" Hodgins said, obviously trying to distract himself from the chaos that he was about to get swept up into.

"Yeah well… quit dreaming and step on it!" Booth exclaimed as he waited on the line for someone to answer. "Goddamned Harding! Why the hell was Bones at the Hoover?" He asked out loud.

"Maybe she wanted to talk to someone else? Maybe she was just sick of being in the house all day… you know Doctor B. she just has a mind of her own, she'll just…"

"Shut up, Hodgins." Booth grunted as Hodgins glared at him.

"You know… you should really be nice to me… this is the second time that I've had to drive you somewhere to…" He stopped his sentence when he saw Booth's death glare in his direction. "S…sorry." He stammered as Booth dialed another number.

"Harding? Where the hell have you been?" Booth barked into the phone.

"Are you calling me to yell at me too?"

"Yell at you? Why would I yell at you? Where the hell are you?"

"I'm on my way to the crime scene, why? Where the hell are you?"

"I'm on my way to the Hoover because Bones is going into labor in the parking garage! What the hell was she doing over there, Harding?"

"She's still here?"

"Answer my question, Harding!"

"I'm turning around now…"

"Harding, goddamn it!" Booth exclaimed as the phone went dead, instantly ringing again, he lifted the phone to his ear. "Why the hell did you hang up on me?" He exclaimed into the line.

"Dad?"

"Parker?" Booth breathed a sigh of relief at the sound of his son's voice. "Thank God, Parker… tell me everything is okay… please?"

"Where are you?"

"We're on our way… we're on our way, buddy… is Bones okay? Antonia?"

"Bones is in a lot of pain, Dad… She wants to talk to you." He said, not waiting another moment the phone was handed off to Temperance, and at first, all Booth could hear was heavy breathing.

"Bones? Bones, can you hear me?" Booth said as he heard the most pitiful whimper he had ever heard.

"Yes…" She managed to let escape. "I'm sorry." It was the first two words from her mouth after her response, and he could feel his heart breaking at the pain in her voice. "Help."

"We're on our way, baby… we're on our way… you need to lie flat on your back, Bones… the contractions are putting pressure on your back. You need to lie down. Have Parker help you lie down."

"No!" She exclaimed into the line, the loudness of her voice not from anger, but of pain as she pulled the phone from her ear.

"Bones!" He exclaimed, listening to the phone shift and he heard her breathing. "Listen to me, Bones… okay? I don't care right now why you're there… I don't care about anything but you and that baby, okay? Are the kids okay?"

"Mmhmm…" She groaned.

"Good, have Parker watch Antonia… we're about… two minutes away." He said, glaring at Hodgins, who slammed his foot on the gas. "If Hodgins can manage to stay on the road!" Booth exclaimed, pointing at a car in the other lane that was about to turn in front of them, the car jerked and tires squealed, but they managed to make it around without an accident, Booth reached over and patted Hodgins on the shoulder firmly, as Hodgins gave him a wide eyed expression. "Can you stay on the phone with me?"

"It hurts." She whimpered.

"We're almost there… let me talk to Parker. I love you."

"I love you." She whimpered, and the phone switched hands once again.

"What do you want me to do, Dad?" Parker asked, his voice was shaking, but he sounded a lot more confident than the first time he had called Booth.

"I need you to help Bones lie down… if she won't do it, you need to keep trying. You know she's stubborn… but if she puts too much pressure on her back… if the labor is… is too much, she could be paralyzed…"

"Dad, I'm scared."

"I know you are, buddy…" Booth said softly as he glanced to Hodgins. "We're just around the corner."

"Please hurry." Parker whimpered, as he hung up the phone and looked to Temperance lying against the car in agony. He looked over at Antonia behind the car and back at Brennan, knowing that when his father came around that corner, there would be no telling what would happen next. "Toni, come here…" He said, calling her by the affectionate name that his father always referred to her as, the name that he knew would get her to trust him. "It's okay, Toni… Daddy is on the way." He said, watching her eyes widen as he approached her. He glanced to Temperance, who was trying to control her pain, but nodded to him. "Come on, Toni… mommy needs your help."

"Mommy is crying." She whimpered.

"Yeah, and she needs your help." Parker said, holding his hand out to her. "Here, take my hand… its okay… daddy is coming, and mommy will be okay."

"You promise?"

"Come on… have I ever let you down?"

"I don't know what that means." Antonia mumbled.

"It means trust me… come on… I'm your big brother, you can trust me." He said, reaching his hand closer, she grabbed it, and he turned around and ducked. "Here, climb up." He said, looking at her over his shoulder, he offered his back to her, to which she quickly reached her arms up and latched them around his neck, her feet lifting off the ground as he held her small body with his hands, pulling her up onto his back as he carried he forward toward Temperance. He could see the instant relief in Temperance's face as he walked around the side of the car, knowing that both children were safe, all she needed now was for Booth to get there, and from the sound of the loud, screeching tires and siren that was echoing through the parking garage, it appeared that he was just in time.


	3. Don't Poke Mama Bear

**April 29th (cont.)**

As soon as the SUV rounded the corner, Brennan reached out and grabbed Parker by the hand, pulling him out of the way to ensure he wouldn't get hurt. A wave of pain shot through her, and Parker nearly toppled over with the little girl still attached to his back. She immediately knew that the car that had come to a squealing stop in front of her wasn't Booth, and as she tried to ward off the pain that was coursing through her body, the face she did see enraged her.

"I don't want you! I want Booth!" She shouted as Harding jumped from his car and rushed around to her.

"Well, I've got you… Parker, get out of the…" Harding said as he started to pull the boy from Temperance, only to have a very strong hand grab his arm, fingernails dug into his skin as she bent his arm back.

"If you so much as touch a hair on that boy's head, pain or no pain, I will kill you." She snarled as she released his arm.

"Geez, Doc…" Harding exclaimed as he grabbed his arm. "I'm here to help… not…"

"I don't want your help! Parker, get your father!"

"He's on his way!" Parker and Harding said at the same time as Parker sat beside Brennan, pulling the little girl into his arms, she held onto her older brother tightly as she buried her head in his chest.

"Dad wants her to lie down." Parker said.

"I want daddy!" Antonia whimpered into Parker.

"He's coming, Toni…." Parker said, holding her tightly. "He's coming…"

"I don't want to lie down! I want Booth! Now!" Temperance exclaimed as Harding stepped forward, prepared to fight with her if he needed.

"You have to lie down, Doc…"

"You touch me, and I swear to God, I'll kick you so hard, you'll need an ambulance before I do." She snapped as she felt another wave of pain, the contractions becoming stronger, she let out a pain filled scream and Harding took it as an opportunity to reposition her. She struggled a bit, but before she could gain control, he had pulled her to her back, lying her flat on the concrete floor, she felt a load of pressure released, but was not having difficulty breathing. "Stop! Stop! I can't breathe! Stop! Just make it stop!" She screamed.

"Ace! Stop hurting mommy!" Antonia exclaimed suddenly as she tried to pull herself from Parker. Parker held to his sister tightly. "Parker, stop! He's hurting mama! He's hurting her!"

"No, Toni… stay with me." Parker said as Harding pulled off his jacket and pushed Temperance up a little, making it easier for her to breathe.

"You have to calm down, Doc… breathe, just try to breathe… deep breaths…" He encouraged as she glared at him.

"Booth… Booth is going to kill you…" She grunted. "He's going to kill you and I'm going to help him!" She shouted.

"That's it, Doc… calm down… keep threatening me, it'll make you feel better."

"Shut up! I hate your voice!" She exclaimed, suddenly feeling a tiny hand in hers, she turned her head to see her daughter looking at her with concern. "Baby."

"Mama… tell him to stop hurting you…"

"Hey, it's not him… it's your baby sister…" She said, trying to breathe, she gritted her teeth as she groaned in pain. She turned her head to Harding, her eyes blazing. "You know how pregnant women always blame the pain on the father? Well… Booth doesn't get any grief for this, it's all reserved for you. I hate you."

"You don't hate me, Doc."

"I do hate you… and if anything happens… anything happens to this baby, I swear… I will murder you and make it look like an accident." She snapped, the smile on his face only making her angrier. "Stop smiling at me!" She shouted.

"Aren't you supposed to be on bed rest?"

"Aren't you supposed to be at a crime scene?" She snapped.

"Mommy, please stop yelling at Ace." Antonia whimpered as she tried to pull from Parker, she watched Temperance's face contort in pain as Harding grabbed her hand, allowing her to grip his tightly as she rode the wave through the pain. They could hear the sound of sirens coming closer, and Harding was thankful that help was arriving.

"That's the ambulance." Harding said, watching Temperance look to Parker.

"I've got her, Bones." He whispered as she nodded her head, when suddenly the ambulance pulled around the corner. As soon as the sound of the siren hit Antonia's ears, as soon as she saw the bright lights and the ambulance, she started to panic.

"No! No! They're going to take Mommy! No!" She exclaimed as she reached for Temperance, only to have Parker pull her away. The EMTs jumped from the ambulance and rushed to her side as the little girl screamed so loud, that it nearly broke Temperance's heart. "Don't take Mommy! Don't take my Mommy!"

"I'm okay, Toni… Daddy is coming… it's okay! Please, baby… be good for Parker… Please!" Temperance called as they were able to get her on the gurney just as the sound of another set of squealing tires and siren came careening around the corner.

Booth was hanging out of the door of the SUV before Hodgins even stopped the car, leaping to the ground as he ran before even touching the ground. As soon as the little girl saw her father, she started to call for him, and at that very moment, he was torn between his baby girl, and Temperance.

Parker looked absolutely petrified as he gripped the girl in his arms, his eyes wide with fear as they pulled Temperance toward the ambulance, so in one quick swoop, he grabbed his daughter from his son, and turned to Hodgins. "Get Parker!" He said as Hodgins nodded, moving to help the boy from the ground as Booth ran to Temperance's side. Harding moved to the side as the chaos of the situation lessened and Booth was able to make it to her. "She's 31 weeks, she shouldn't be going into labor." He said as Antonia buried her head in his shoulder and cried.

"Don't let them take mommy…don't let them take her… " She sobbed, feeling her father holding her, his hand trying to rub her back as soothingly as he could, feeling her fingernails digging into his skin as Temperance looked up at him.

"Bones…" He said, smiling out of habit at catching her eyes.

"It's about time." She breathed, feeling his strong hand in hers, she felt a warmth move through her as she felt complete all of a sudden, and despite the chaos, despite the pain and trauma. She knew that everything was going to be alright.

"Tell the baby to stop… tell the baby to stop being mean to mommy!" Antonia exclaimed into Booth's ear. "Tell the baby to stop hurting mommy!"

Temperance was lifted into the ambulance, and Booth needed to be with her, but he knew that the tiny girl that was attached to him was not going to let go. He turned to Harding and grabbed his arm. "I need you to take Antonia." He said, as he heard a sudden shout from Temperance in response.

"No!" Temperance exclaimed. "Do not let him take her!" She shouted angrily.

"Bones, what's gotten into you?" Booth asked as Harding shook his head.

"I can't take her, Booth." He said as he looked at the desperate look on his friend's face. "You're going to have to listen to Doc on this one."

"For God's sake!" Booth shouted as Hodgins stepped around and pulled at the little girl, her arms reluctantly releasing from her father as she latched onto Hodgins. "I owe you, man." He said, kissing the little girl on the head. "I will see you very soon. I love you, and I promise that I'll take care of mommy, and your baby sister." He whispered, the little girl's brown eyes meeting his, she leaned forward and kissed his cheek.

"I love you, Daddy." She whispered.

"That means the world to me, kiddo." Booth said as he looked to Hodgins. "Take them to the house… your place, my place… I don't care. I will call you when I know more." Booth said as he saw Parker standing by the SUV, looking absolutely shell shocked. "We're going to talk later, buddy." He said, giving his son a thumbs up, a nervous smile came over the boy's face and with that, Booth was in the ambulance and on his way to the hospital, as they moved quickly through the parking garage and out toward the hospital.


	4. In Between The Heartbeats

Both children were silent in the car, and Hodgins had to keep checking the back seat of the SUV to ensure that they were still there. Their eyes were plastered to the window outside, and both had a faraway look in their eyes. "Hey, are you guys hungry or anything?" Hodgins asked, hoping that there was something that would get their minds off what was going on. Neither responded in the positive or negative. "Do you guys care if we go to your place or mine?" He asked, sighing as he looked at one child, then the other, neither of them looked to him, so he sighed and drove in the direction of his house.

* * *

The scene in the ambulance was a bit more chaotic. Brennan was on the gurney, naturally, and Booth sat on the small bench beside her as they worked on stopping the contractions as well as they could. "Booth?" She called from the bed, her pain almost unbearable as he held his hand out and grasped hers tightly. "Booth, I'm sorry." She exclaimed, tears rolling down her cheeks.

"What are you sorry about? Not listening, or for me being right?"

"I'm… sorry for everything…" She cried out, her hand nearly crushing his as she squeezed it through another wave of pain.

"Are you sorry about breaking my fingers?" He asked as she tried not to laugh, but it brought minimal relief, so she allowed herself to do it.

"No." She whimpered as she watched his eyes sparkle at hers.

"You need to think positive thoughts, baby… positive thoughts, and before you know it, we'll be at the hospital." He said as she pulled at his hand, squeezing it as the pain began to lessen.

"I love you." She whimpered. "I'm scared, Booth."

With those words, he stood, feeling the movement of the ambulance, he held fast to the bed as he reached across her and grabbed her other hand. He leaned down and pressed his forehead to hers, disregarding the medics telling him to sit down. "I will not let anything bad happen to you, Bones…"

"You're not a doctor, you don't know… her lungs aren't developed fully… what if… what if…?"

"You don't speculate… no conjecture… whatever happens, happens… and I assure you… it will all work out." Booth assured. "Positive thoughts, Bones… positive thoughts." He whispered, as he held her through the ride to the hospital, his presence and comfort providing her with all she needed to make it through this. "Close your eyes… it'll be okay." He whispered, running his fingers through her hair. "We're almost there."

* * *

_February 14th_

_Brennan glanced to the door again, waiting for it to open, willing for it to open. He was never late for one of her appointments, and she glanced at her watch to see that he still had two minutes to spare. She was lying on the exam room table, and she listened carefully, her eyes closed for a moment as she felt the coolness of the room. She glanced at her watch just as the next minute passed, and the door opened quickly behind the curtain. "Bones?" His voice sounded somewhat rattled, but she smiled regardless._

_"In here." She replied, seeing his brown eyes poke around the curtain as he smiled. _

_"Am I late?"_

_"No." She replied, her eyes brightened considerably upon seeing him. _

_"I almost left the squints at the scene, they were taking forever." He said, walking around the curtain to her bedside, she leaned down and kissed her lips tenderly. "Did I miss anything?"_

_"You haven't missed anything." She replied, instantly feeling his hand on her abdomen, his eyes never left hers. "Booth, it's alright…" She said, noting the bit of panic in his eyes. "Are you okay?"_

_"Just a little nervous." He said, shrugging._

_"Booth," she said softly. "There is nothing to be nervous about, it's not as if you are getting the ultrasound. It is a routine procedure, and there is no pain involved. Weren't you there for Parker's?"_

_"No." He replied, with a bit of a gulp. "Rebecca wouldn't let me." He said, watching a slight darkened expression cloud her eyes. "She told me, obviously… that it was going to be a boy, but it wasn't until a few days later." He replied, glancing to the curtain, he hated to see the anger behind her eyes whenever he brought up something that he had missed with Parker._

_"Hey." She said, tugging his hand, he looked at her and caught the hope in her eyes. "You're not going to miss a thing." She replied._

_"No." He shook his head. "Not one damn thing." He said, leaning down to kiss her cheek, he nuzzle her neck just a little as they heard the door close behind the curtain. _

_"Doctor Brennan?" A woman's voice drifted from behind the curtain._

_"We're okay, Doctor Bryan." Temperance said, her eyes still directly on Booth's as he felt his smile begin to break the nervous tension that was lining face._

_The doctor stepped from behind the curtain and smiled. "Mister Booth." She smiled, holding her hand out to the proud father, who seemed even more nervous than he had been in their previous visits. "It's a pleasure to see you again." She smiled._

_He smiled anxiously and held his hand out, gripping hers firmly, he always felt better once the professionals entered, much like he did when he was at work. "You too, Doctor Bryan." He smiled. "She's doing pretty well, right?" He asked nervously._

_"I did Temperance's exam already, and she's looking really good… and she indicated that you wanted to be here for the ultrasound." She said, her voice just a bit too sweet for Booth's taste, but he always just sucked it in and accepted her overly cheery attitude, as it seemed to calm Temperance, despite what she would say. "I'm going to send in the technician, she'll get you all set up, and we'll get a good look at that little one."_

_The doctor could see the barely veiled excitement in the eyes of the father-to-be, and she couldn't help but smile at his excitement and concern for the woman and child that were beside him. She gave them a friendly smile and walked from the room, leaving them alone for a moment._

_It didn't take long for the technician to appear, and it took an even shorter amount of time for them to prepare for the ultrasound itself. Before they knew it, the transducer was gliding across Temperance's bare belly, and the images were sliding across the screen. The technician watched as the two parents stared at the screen before them, the father's eyes wide with wonder as he stared at the picture on the screen._

_"Booth?" Temperance whispered, feeling his hand squeeze hers, she knew that he was trying to figure out what he was looking at. "Booth, do you know what you're looking at?"_

_"Um… I think the cable is out…" He said, tipping his head to the side, he heard Temperance's laugh beside him and turned his head simply to catch the smile on her lips. "Care to tell me what I'm looking at, Bones?" He said, watching her eyes sparkle like diamonds as he noticed the technician was also laughing. "You two think this is funny?"_

_"Of course not, Mister Booth… you're not the first father who has said that." The technician laughed as she walked to the screen and pointed at the round figure in the picture. "That's the…head…" She said, moving the transducer around a bit, she watched the baby move. "See… there's the hand, an active baby you have there, Doctor Brennan." The technician said, careful not to slip and reveal the baby's sex. She moved the transducer a little bit, the picture went out and back a bit, and Temperance watched Booth as he stared at the screen, absolutely mesmerized._

_"Is it a boy or girl?" Booth asked, still keeping his eyes on the screen, the image went in and out, and Temperance tugged on his hand. He turned to look at her, and she lifted her eyebrows. "You already know."_

_"Of course I do." She said, giving the technician a sly glance. _

_"What is it?" He asked, turning his head from the screen, he kept complete attention on Temperance._

_"It's a girl." She whispered, when suddenly a low rumbling sound could be heard, his eyes flashed to the screen again. _

_"A girl?" He whispered. "Another girl…" She could see him swallow back his tears, his eyes focused on the screen. "I don't care how you know… how you tell… I trust you." He whispered. _

_"That's her heartbeat." She whispered. "We heard it at our other appointment, remember?" He just remained silent, listening to the gentle thump of the baby's heart over the speaker as he held Temperance's hand. His eyes closed and he turned, and for a moment, Temperance wasn't sure if he was okay or not. "Booth?" She whispered, and his eyes opened on hers, wet with unshed tears. "I love you." _

_"I love you." He said, swallowing hard once again. "I love you so much." He sighed a breath of relief, and leaned down, kissing her forehead and closing his eyes, as she closed her eyes and they listened to their child's heartbeat together._

* * *

The memory was enough to calm her nerves, calm some of her pain, and before they knew it, she was being pulled from the ambulance. She lost sight of Booth for a split second and had a moment of panic, but before she could breathe an expression of worry, she could hear his voice. He was asking questions, giving answers, and was remaining as calm as he could under the circumstances. "Booth?" She called to him, seeing him appear out of the crowd of nurses and EMTs helping to get her into the hospital. "We'll be okay?" She asked, needing to hear him say the words.

"We're going to be great, Bones." He said, seeing the weary smile on his lips calmed her considerably, as they whisked her away into the hospital, to assess the situation fully.


	5. Almost Ready

Hodgins pulled up the driveway and parked the car, noticing the ghostly look on both of the children's faces. "Hey guys, cheer up… Doctor B will be just fine…" He said, watching as Parker sighed, unbuckling his seatbelt. "You're going to have a new sister soon."

Parker climbed from the car without another word as Hodgins opened the back door of the SUV to help Antonia from her car seat. She allowed him to lift her into his arms and they all trudged toward the door. As soon as they stepped into the house, Angela walked around the corner, baby nestled on her shoulder as she saw the two children and her husband walking in. "Jack? What happened?"

"Doctor B went into labor… We have guests."

"Brennan went into labor? Hodgins, she's only thirty weeks along." She said, ushering Parker and Hodgins through the house, the little girl nestled in his neck. "What's going on with these guys? Did you have to pick them up at the house?" She asked, watching Parker walk to the couch without a word, he flopped backwards onto the cushions and stared straight ahead.

"They're not talking." He said simply. "Doctor B apparently got herself into some trouble at the Hoover this afternoon, and the ambulance had to come and get her. I had to bring Booth to the Hoover, and he rode with her to the hospital, and I took the kids with me."

"What was she doing at the FBI building?" She asked, and he indicated the children, who were not inclined just yet to say anything. "I guess we'll have to wait to hear from them. Was she okay?"

"She appeared to be stable once Booth got there… though there was some strange stuff going on between Harding and Brennan." He said, noticing Parker's head snap in his direction. "It's all complicated, right now." Jack said, giving the boy a curious look. "Though I'm sure everything will be answered in due time."

"Are you guys hungry?" Angela asked, watching Parker shake his head as he stared at the coffee table.

"Uncle Bugs?" Antonia's whisper was soft and frightened, a bit of a gulp could be heard in her throat as her tender brown eyes met his.

"What is it, princess?" he asked, shifting her a bit as he watched her eyes moisten with tears.

"Is mommy going to jail?" She whimpered, swallowing hard as Hodgin's eyes widened, and he glanced to Angela, and the little girl stared at him, wide eyed and inquisitive as she waited patiently for her answer.

* * *

_March 22nd-_

_Temperance's eyes were closed, her back was feeling a bit sore, and Booth had insisted that she take a short nap before dinner. She had been sleeping for a short while, her sleep often interrupted by the baby moving around, obviously not interested in taking a nap. She could sense that someone is in the room, and by the quiet movement, could tell that they were small feet that had stepped into the bedroom._

_She kept her eyes closed, and listened as they shuffled across the floor, and two small arms leaned on the mattress. "Are you staring at me?" Temperance whispered, opening an eye as she turned her head, greeted by the smile of her little girl as she gasped a little in surprise that her mother was awake._

_"I thought you were sleeping." She whispered._

_"I was…" She said, glancing to the slightly opened doorway. "Is daddy making dinner?"_

_"Uh huh." She nodded. "He said to let you sleep." She said, moving around to the end of the bed, she crawled up the side of the bed to her mother's face and dropped a tender kiss on her nose. She calmly pet her mother's hair. "You can go back to sleep, mommy." Antonia whispered, her eyes moving once again to her mother's bulging belly. _

_"Your baby sister doesn't want me to go to sleep." She whispered._

_"Do you think she'll like if I sing her a lullaby?" Antonia asked her mother, watching as she smiled tenderly. _

_"Why don't you give it a try…" Temperance said, watching as the little girl crawled toward her belly, she rested her little head on it and smiled over toward her mother. Softly, the little girl's voice whispered through the room, as she softly sang to her baby sister, watching Temperance's eyes as they closed slowly. Antonia continued to hum her favorite lullaby, her own eyes closing as she sang, and before she knew it, she had fallen asleep against her mother's warm body._

_Nearly ten minutes later, the door opened a little wider, and Booth peered in to see how Temperance was resting, her eyes opening slightly as she smiled at his entrance. _

_"She's a sneaky one." He whispered, nodding toward the now sleeping three year old, cuddled against her mother's belly._

_"Sometimes, I believe she feels left out." Temperance whispered._

_"I understand." He said, walking to the other side of the bed, he smiled at Temperance. "Sometimes I feel left out too." He whispered, carefully pulling the little girl from her curled position, he lifted her tenderly, and placed her against her mother, closer to the pillow. Antonia curled into her mother and smiled sleepily as her eyes fluttered open for a moment and closed. Booth smiled at her as Temperance watched him._

_"I'm trying to keep you involved, you know that."_

_"Oh, I know that… you've done a lot." He said softly. "You know me though, I don't want to miss a second." He said, settling on the bed, he rolled onto his side and kissed her tenderly, Antonia curled and sleeping between them._

_"We have a beautiful family." Temperance whispered._

_"We do." He agreed, kissing her temple as he rested beside them, closing his eyes for a moment as he held them close to his heart, before kissing Temperance one more time. "Dinner is almost ready." He whispered, climbing from the bed. "I'll be in to get you three in a little bit." He said, flashing a bright smile as he exited the room, disappearing in the hallway, as Temperance's eyes closed and she drifted to sleep._

* * *

Booth was pacing in the waiting room, and each time he heard a sound he'd look up, his heart racing wildly in his chest as finally, after nearly an hour, maybe it was over an hour, or two hours. Time seemed to be stopped, and speeding up at the exact same time, and Booth had no idea how much had passed when a doctor walked through the doors. The doctor walked up to him and began to speak a string of words that Booth was hardly able to understand, the panic in his chest was becoming too much for him to bear as he felt the man's hand on his shoulder.

"Mister Booth, are you sure you're okay?"

"You were able to get the contractions to stop." He whispered.

"We were able to slow them, but Temperance has indicated that the trauma that she sustained several months ago is increasing her pain substantially."

"The baby isn't ready." Booth breathed. "She said the baby isn't ready, the baby isn't ready…"

"Ideally, we want her to try to carry the baby as long as possible and as close to the due date as possible, but its appearing that much of the pain she is feeling at this point is due to the back injury. We are giving her fluids, and we have given her a shot of Terbutaline to slow the contractions, and she's resting right now. We want to keep her under observation overnight, but if the pain persists, or if the baby becomes distressed, we may be forced to do a c-section."

"How is the baby now?"

"The heartbeat is strong… she appears to be in good shape, and if we do decide to go forward with the delivery, we'll need to give her some steroids, stimulate the lungs… she will most likely have to be on a ventilator, but there's no saying about any of that right now. If she's born now, she'll be in the hospital, most likely until the due date. I just want you to be informed of all of this, so there are no surprises, okay?" The doctor said softly, noting the state of panic he seemed to be in, it was justified and understood, and the doctor knew that he needed to be very patient with him. "She is asking for you." He said with a kind smile, as he nodded his head toward the door, indicating that Booth should follow.


	6. Tell Me No Lies

Booth followed the doctor closely, turning when he turned, and watching as he tried to remain positive despite the panicked situation that had gotten them there. His eyes lightened up as soon as he saw her face, her head turning to face him, her face lit up as well and he rushed past the doctor to her bedside, grasping her hand immediately as he reached to touch her cheek with his other hand and kissed her forehead.

"Hey, I'm okay." She said, sensing his panic, feeling his body tremble with worry. "Booth, we're okay." She looked up to see the doctor nod toward the door, and she gave him a grateful smile as he excused himself silently.

"Damn straight you're okay." He said, pulling from her, his hands remained in hers and on her cheek. "You scared the hell out of me, Bones."

"I'm sorry." She whispered, keeping her eyes steady with his for several moments, they couldn't bear to tear them away from one another.

"How is the pain?" He asked, watching as she swallowed hard, he had memorized every nuance of her, and could see that she was already working on an exaggeration. "Don't lie to me, Bones." He whispered.

"I'm still in quite a bit of pain, my back… though the contractions have been stopped for now." She whispered, resting her head on the pillow, she watched his eyes. "Aren't you going to ask me why I was at the Hoover?"

"No." He whispered. "That's not important right now. Your health, the baby… that's what is important, okay?"

"You're not going to ask me?"

"I'm not going to ask you."

"I wasn't going to have the baby today, you know."

"It would mess with your schedule, right?" He winked at her as she let her jaw drop. She looked exhausted, but glowing, and her eyes were so tired, yet they sparkled back at him. "Don't try to fool me, Temperance Brennan. I know you have this baby's life mapped out for at least her first three years."

"It's important to have a regimen, a schedule…"

"Yeah, it is… for some things, but you can't predict everything." He chuckled lightly as she rolled her eyes. "Life, as a rule, is unpredictable."

"Booth," she whispered, watching as his eyes as they skated over her again, his hand now resting on her abdomen and his thumb rhythmically moved back and forth across it. "We need to call Antonia and Parker. I'm sure they're concerned."

Booth watched her for a moment, her eyes flicked from his, and he knew that there was something that she wanted to discuss, but was avoiding. "You're going to tell me eventually, right?" He asked, holding his phone up, he tipped his head as he watched her focus co back to his eyes. "Because I do have other sources, you know?" His lips curled to a wry smile that made her shake her head.

* * *

Hodgins shifted the little girl on his hip a bit, and watched her frightened brown eyes. "Jail?" Hodgins asked.

"Yes." Antonia whispered. "The fire truck took mommy."

"It was an ambulance, Toni." Parker grunted from the couch. "It's an ambulance, they take sick people to the hospital, not bad people to jail." He rolled his eyes. "Don't be stupid." He snapped.

"Hey… she's a kid, man." Hodgins said, watching the boy's glare as he turned his attention away from them and released an angry sigh.

Antonia whimpered as Hodgins kissed her forehead and Angela gave them a smile as she walked toward the two of them. "Why don't you come with me, Little A… JV needs a diaper change, and I know that you are a very good helper." She said, patting the baby's back as Antonia nodded, swallowing hard as she slipped down from Hodgins' hold and took Angela's hand. "We'll talk about all of this when we get upstairs, okay?" She asked, watching the little girl nod her head.

Hodgins watched the boy sitting on the couch, his eyes were still focusing on the coffee table, and he could tell that he wasn't faring well in this situation at all. "Hey." He said, sitting beside the boy on the couch, he kicked his feet up onto the coffee table as Parker turned his attention to him for a moment. "Doctor B is going to be just fine." Hodgins said, watching as Parker turned his attention away from him. "Seriously, man… whatever happened… whatever reason you guys were there, I know it was all Doctor Brennan's idea. It's not like you were driving or anything."

"It's my fault." Parker mumbled.

"I'm sure it's…"

"It's my fault…" Parker snapped back. "It is my fault, okay? I was the one that told her that mom and Chris want to move away. I was the one that told her that Chris wanted to adopt me. It was my fault!" He said as he stood up abruptly. "Can I go outside?"

Hodgins was slightly taken aback by the boy's anger, but he understood that it was justified. He gave him a slight smile and nodded. "Sure…" He said as Parker tried to pass a grateful smile as he stood up and made his way toward the door. Hodgins sighed and tipped his head back, just as the phone rang. He lifted his cell to his ear. "Hodgins." He said, without even looking at the display on the phone.

"Are they okay?" Booth asked immediately, his voice showing concern, and Hodgins could tell from the tone that things had calmed.

"Yeah, yeah… they're fine. How is Doctor Brennan?"

"They stopped the contractions." He said calmly into the line. "They want to keep her overnight, maybe a day or two longer." He said, and Hodgins nearly laughed when he heard Temperance's bickering voice in the background.

"She sounds like she's feeling better." Hodgins said softly.

"The kids?" Booth asked. "Can I talk to them?"

"Sure… Parker just went outside, I think he needed a couple of minutes alone… but I'll bring the phone up to Ange, hang on a sec."

* * *

Angela walked into the nursery with Antonia holding her hand tightly. They walked to the changing table and Antonia looked around at everything as she stepped up toward the changing table.

"So mommy isn't going to jail?" She asked sincerely, as Angela put the baby on the changing table gently, watching him wiggle a little, his face scrunching up in irritation at being lifted from the warmth of his mother's arm.

"Mommy is definitely not going to jail." Angela replied as she kicked a small stepstool from under the changing table, the little girl stepped onto it as Angela went about gently tugging at the baby's outfit.

"When the doctors came to get Deuce, they took him to the hospital, then he had to go to jail." She said innocently, remembering that moment as if it had happened days ago. She still had the nightmares, the memories of those days, and it wasn't expected that they would just disappear.

"Well, Deuce wasn't having a baby, now was he?" Angela asked as the little girl's face scrunched into a silly smile.

"No! Boys can't have babies!" She laughed as Angela reached over and gave the girl a little tickle on her neck.

"That's right… boys can't have babies… and that's all that was happening, was the baby was telling mommy that she wanted out of there."

"Yeah." She said, handing Angela a diaper without even being asked.

"Thank you." She whispered as Angela continued to change the baby.

"Like when JV was in your uterus and wanted to get out, right?" Antonia asked, watching carefully as Angela's eyes flicked to the young girl who was paying no attention to Angela, just to the baby on the table. She was only a little surprised by the girl's words, because it wouldn't be the first time that she had surprised them with her vocabulary.

"Right." Angela nodded. "But I think your little sister has a couple more weeks of growing to do before she's ready." She said as she finished up the diaper change and snapped the onesie back into place.

She lifted the baby from the changing table and looked down at her little helper as she tossed the diaper into the designated trash bin for diapers just as Hodgins took a step into the room. He was holding the phone and had a slight smile on his face as Antonia smiled.

"Things going better now?" Hodgins asked.

"Much better." Angela replied as she noticed he was holding the phone.

"Someone on the phone wants to talk to you." He said, handing the phone to the little girl, who took it more than willingly and pressed it to her ear.

"Hello?"

"Angel." Booth's voice reverberated over the line, and a smile like no other lit up the little girl's face.

"Daddy." She said, tucking the phone under her ear, she looked shy all of a sudden as she watched Angela smile at her happiness to hear her father's voice. "Are you at jail with mommy?"

"Jail?" Booth laughed. "No, baby… but your mommy thinks that the hospital is like a jail, so you may not want to ask her that question."

"Okay. Is mommy okay?"

"Mommy is doing just fine."

"What about my baby sister?"

"She's doing just fine."

"Parker yelled at me, he said I was stupid."

"Alright, alright…" Angela said, watching the little girl sigh.

"Nevermind." Antonia said. "Are you coming to get us now? I want to see mommy."

"I think mommy is going to have to stay here for tonight, baby." Booth said softly as he heard his daughter's soft sigh. "Mommy is going to have to take a nap soon… so I am going to come and take you and Parker to dinner, okay?"

"Okay." She nodded.

"We'll talk about all of this stuff at dinner, does that sound good to you?"

"Okay."

"Now I need you to give the phone back to Uncle Bugs… and tell him that I need to talk to Parker, okay?"

"I love you, Daddy." She replied. "I love Mommy."

"We love you very much too."

"I love my baby sister." She said softly, her voice a near whisper.

"I know you do, little girl." He replied.

Antonia turned and lifted the phone to Hodgins. "He wants to talk to my stupid brother." She said, grinning as she skipped out of the room, leaving Hodgins to give Angela a shake of his head.

"Don't look at me like that… yours are going to be just like that." She said, as he simply laughed and went in search of Parker, while Angela lifted her son into her arms and went in search of Antonia.


	7. What's A Booth?

Booth stayed with Temperance for close to an hour, ensuring that she was as comfortable as possible, asking her if she needed anything, wanted anything, that he would do anything she needed. "I need you to go get your daughter and son, and tell them that I am going to be fine, Booth." She said sleepily. "Just let me rest, okay? I'll be okay, I promise."

"You promise?" He asked, leaning down to press his forehead to hers, his hand remained on her belly as he watched her eyes look up at him.

"Booth." She whispered.

"Fine, fine… I'll go check on the kids, Hodgins is probably waiting downstairs with the SUV by now…but you're going to stay in the bed, right?"

"Booth."

"I mean, I don't have to leave my handcuffs with the nurse or anything? Chain your ankle to the end of the bed… maybe put sensors on the door to set off an alarm if you try to escape?" He teased.

"Just go, before I change my mind." She said as she felt his warm kiss on her lips, she caught his hand in hers. "Tell Parker that it isn't his fault…"

"I'll tell him." He whispered. "Just tell me one thing?"

"Okay." She watched his eyes warily, the nagging pain in her back throbbing, making her flinch. He squeezed her hand.

"Were you at the Hoover to see Ace?"

"Yes." She replied, knowing full well that her eyes were telling the story, she felt him pulling his hand from hers. "Booth… just go get the kids. Don't push this, don't make me worry."

"The last thing that I want is to make you worry, Bones. I'm going to go get the kids." He said, kissing her quickly again, a slight smile he stood up straight and walked toward the door. "Then I'm going to find Ace and hold him upside down off the roof of the building by his ankles until he tells me what happened in his office." He winked with a charm smile as he waved at her, his fingers wiggling until he heard her laugh. "I love you."

"Just… make sure he takes his keys out of his pockets first, Booth. You don't want to injure anyone on the sidewalk below." She said, watching his eyes light up as he laughed.

"Good point… smart woman."

"I know." She nodded. "I love you." She whispered as she watched him disappear out the door quietly as she sat back and closed her eyes, sighing contentedly as she attempted to rest despite her discomfort.

* * *

Booth walked through the lobby of the hospital and out into the parking lot, immediately spotting Hodgins in the SUV, and Angela in her car following along behind him. He waved to them and moved quickly toward the SUV, and Hodgins climbed out, tossing Booth his keys. Booth could see his daughter in the car, waving emphatically and he blew her a kiss that she 'caught' and giggled. "She still doing alright?"

"She's on bed rest… until July…"

Hodgins chuckled. "She is so not going to go for that, man." He shook his head.

"She has no choice… she was supposed to be on bed rest for the past two months, but you know Bones, nothing is going to keep her from doing whatever she wants to do." He chuckled. "How are they doing?"

"Parker seems pretty upset, you're going to have to talk to him, this whole Dr. B thing has really gotten him down… and the other one, well… she's all sunshine and butterflies."

"I'm sure." Booth chuckled, raising his arm in a wave to Angela as he walked toward the other car with Hodgins, glancing to the SUV for a moment, he leaned on the window she opened for him and smiled "Thanks for bringing them over, you don't mind keeping them tonight?"

"They're always welcome at our house." Angela said, watching Booth look into the back seat.

"Hey J-bird… what's up, little man." Booth said as the baby watched Booth warily for a moment before his eyes lit up. "He's awake a lot more…" Booth smiled.

"Yes… yes, he is." Hodgins said tiredly as Booth stood up and Hodgins climbed into the passenger seat. "And soon, you'll get the luxury of that hungry wake up call." Hodgins said with a laugh as Booth chuckled.

"I'll bring them by after dinner, you guys are the best."

"Just take care of her, Booth." Angela said as she watched his eyes sparkle when he nodded. "I know you will, I just have to say it."

"I'll take care of her…thanks again." He said, waving to his friends as they drove off. His eyes drifted to the waiting SUV and he tossed the keys in his hand for a second. He glanced at the hospital and then back to the truck before making his way toward the driver's side, still trying to calm his nerves about everything that was going on around him.

* * *

The drive toward the diner was in relative silence, if silence included a chatty three year old who explained in detail about everything she had done since the last time Booth had talked to them.. "And then Uncle Bugs brought us to see you!" Antonia giggled.

"Toni, just shut up, will ya?" Parker muttered.

"I don't want to shut up." Antonia huffed.

"Parker, don't be like that, please." Booth said, scowling at his son in the rear view mirror, his eyes panned to his daughter. "Toni… let's give Parker his space, okay?"

"Like outer space?" Antonia asked.

"Yes… outer space… it's very quiet in outer space." Booth lied as the little girl thought very hard about this 'fact' that Booth had given her.

"I think I'm going to have to ask mommy about that, Daddy." She sighed.

"Always checking your facts…" Booth shook his head. "Just once… you should go with your gut…" He said, winking at the little girl.

"Guts are bloody and slimy, Daddy." The little girl giggled. "Daddy?"

"Hm, princess?" Booth asked, expecting another question about blood or guts or outer space to come flitting across the car.

"What's a Booth?" She asked, completely ignoring the glare from Parker.

"Toni, stop it." Parker whispered.

"What was that, sweetheart?" Booth asked, his brow furrowing as he noticed Parker's agitation.

"A Booth… what is a Booth? Mommy says that Parker is a Booth…That's what she calls you."

"Toni, shut up." Parker whispered.

"That's daddy's last name, baby. Mommy was just talking about Parker's last name." He said, fairly sure that this conversation had something to do with their trip to the Hoover, he was a natural investigator. There was no harm in doing just a little investigating. "Parker's last name is Booth too."

"Not for long!" Antonia exclaimed as Parker's fist connected with his little sister's rib and she let out a mighty scream.

"Parker!" Booth exclaimed as he looked back to see the boy angrily growling at Antonia as the little girl screamed and began to cry. "What the…?"

"I told her to shut up!" He exclaimed angrily as he tried to cover Antonia's mouth.

"Parker, stop… Parker, you're making it worse…" Booth said as he pulled the car into a parking lot and slammed it into park. Antonia continued to scream as Parker wrestled with her as she punched him and kicked at him. Booth leapt from the driver's seat, and swung open the back door. He reached across and grabbed his son's arms from his sister as he unbuckled him and literally lifted him out of the seat, depositing him onto the ground, he nearly pushed the boy into the car as he slammed the back door. Out of breath and out of patience, Booth watched as Parker stared angrily at him, scratch marks on his arms from his sister's fight as Booth caught his breath. "What the hell is going on, Parker?" Booth panted, as Antonia cried heartbreaking sobs from her car seat.


	8. Dine and Dash

Parker's eyes widened from his father's reaction. He had never known Booth to react this way to anything, and for a split second he was actually afraid. Booth must have seen the flash of fear in the boy's eyes and immediately felt guilty for scaring him, but the screaming child in the car snapped him back to reality.

"What the hell was that all about, Parker?" Booth asked angrily. "Talk to me, Parker! Now!"

The boy automatically took a defensive stance. "I warned her." He argued, pointing into the car.

"She is three years old, Parker!" Booth shouted. "If you want her to stop talking, or you want her to change the subject, just distract her! Change the subject for her, sing a goddamned Christmas carol... I don't know, point out a shiny object! Anything! Anything but hitting!" Booth shouted. "You know better than that!"

"I'm sorry!" Parker exclaimed.

"Don't tell me that you're sorry, you should be telling your sister that you're sorry!" Booth shouted.

The boy was on the verge of tears, his face red with anger as he took a deep breath. "I didn't ask for this, you know!" Parker screamed suddenly. "I didn't ask for this! I just wanted everything to go back to normal! It's not fair! I just wanted my dad back! That's all that I wanted! I don't want to share you! I don't want a stupid sister, or a stupid step father! I just wanted you!" Parker screamed, the tears rolling down his cheeks as his face turned redder. "All I wanted was you to be alive!" He shouted, ending his tirade out of breath, streaks of tears running down his face.

Booth paused for a moment, ready to just grab his son and hug him, prepared to just end it all right there, but he knew that he couldn't. He knew that the dam had started to break, and that this conversation was inevitable, and though standing in a parking lot on the way to the diner wasn't necessarily the best way to do this, it had to be done. "You're right, Parker." Booth started. "It's not fair." He sighed. "None of it is fair. It wasn't fair that the plane I was in exploded and took me away from everyone I love. It wasn't fair that I had to spend nearly four years alone and hiding from the people that I love. I hurt you, I hurt Bones, Antonia! It's not fair that you were taken away from all that you knew and loved. It's not fair, you're right! None of it is fair!" He said, focusing his eyes on his son's. "It isn't fair, but do you know what? It's the way it is, Parker! It happened, okay? You can either let it break you, or you can use it to make you stronger! Which do you want, Parker? Do you want to be angry, or do you want to be happy, and in control of your emotions? Do you want to lose your sister's adoration or do you want her to think you're mean and hateful?" Booth asked, his voice lowering as his son watched him intensely.

Booth and Parker looked into the car, and by now Antonia was no longer crying, but quietly watching them both through the window, rubbing her eye with her fist as she sniffled, and her tender brown eyes showing her own sense of unfairness to herself. Her eyes locked with Parker's and she sniffled again.

"I... I want to be happy." Parker whispered, keeping his eyes on hers for a moment.

"And how do you think you can accomplish that, Parker?"

"I don't know." He whispered, turning his eyes back to his father.

"Well, you're not going to get happiness by hurting others. I can assure you of that." Booth said calmly.

"Dad?"

"What?" Booth asked, watching his son's shoulders sag for a moment.

"I'm sorry about Bones." He whispered. "I didn't want her to go... I told her that it was okay."

"What was okay?" He asked.

"I..." He sighed and looked into the car. "I think this is a diner talk." He whispered.

Booth was a little surprised by his son's admission, the sincerity in his eyes, and wondered for a moment if he just wanted to get Booth into a public place to avoid a scene. Whether there was an outside motivation or not, he nodded.

"I should tell Toni that I'm sorry." Parker swallowed, watching his father nod as he opened the door.

Booth watched his son climb slowly into the back seat, and watched Antonia watch him warily for a moment as he held his hand out to her and said something softly to her. She nodded her head and he leaned over and gave her a tender hug, to which she wrapped her arms around him as best as she could. Booth sighed as he watched his son's apology, giving him a half smile, Parker sat back in his seat and buckled his seatbelt as Booth walked around and continued on their way to the diner.

* * *

When they got to the diner, Booth lifted Antonia from her car seat, and Parker led them to their table in the back, where the little girl sat on her daddy's lap, across from Parker, who looked quite solemn and serious. They ordered their food and waited, making small talk about this and that until their food was brought to the table. Antonia slid to her own chair, and she and Parker began to eat, and Booth watched as his brown eyes met his father's. "So what happened with Bones?" He asked.

"Well… you had to go to work, and you told me to take care of Bones and make sure Toni didn't get in any trouble." He shrugged.

"Yeah." Booth said, waiting for the boy to continue.

"Promise me you won't hurt Chris if I tell you this story, Dad."

"Parker." Booth said sternly. His mind was reeling and all he could think of was along the lines of the unthinkable. "Did Chris do something to you? Did he do something inappropriate?"

"No!" Parker shook his head. "No, Dad, nothing like that… nothing… no… I swear." Parker assured his father, watching some of the lines on Booth's face relax, the concern was still quite obvious, and he sighed. "It's nothing like that, but just… promise you won't hurt Chris, okay? Promise you won't? I already feel bad about Bones, and I don't want someone else to get hurt because of me." He said, noticing his father's jaw clench. "Promise me, Dad. You said that hurting people isn't going to make you happy, and it won't make me happy if you hurt Chris because of this, so you have to promise."

"I promise."

"Say it, Dad…"

"Parker, if he hurt you, or…"

"Dad, please."

"I promise I won't hurt Chris… please, just… tell me, okay?" Booth asked, feeling Antonia against him, he held her to him as if she were almost a security blanket, that her innocence could rescue from the turmoil in his mind.

* * *

_Temperance watched Parker across the room as he shifted uncomfortably on the couch. He was reading a book, his fingers flipping the pages as he read, and he'd sigh now and again. "Parker, are you alright?" She asked, watching the worried look on the boy's face when he looked up at her._

_"I guess." He shrugged._

_"You're not certain of how you're feeling?" She asked._

_"I guess." He shrugged again, staring at his book._

_"Parker?" She said, watching his eyes meet hers again. She put her laptop on the table beside her and sat uncomfortably. "Tell me what's wrong."_

_"I dunno." He shrugged._

_"You and I are friends, correct?"_

_"Yeah."_

_"Well I can see that something is bothering you… Toni is in her bedroom playing, she won't interrupt us… you can trust me."_

_"I don't really want to talk about it." He whispered. "If I tell you, then you'll tell dad, and he'll kill someone."_

_"You're worried about your father killing someone?" She asked, her voice showing concern as she watched the boy nod._

_"Maybe not killing him, but being really, really, really, really, really mad."_

_Temperance tipped her head. "Am I to assume this has something to do with your report card?"_

_"No." Parker said, giving Temperance a pointed look. "I'm doing really good in school." He said proudly. "Besides, dad says he can't say anything about my report card… and that I should have seen his from when he was a kid."_

_"I assume that he's trying to make the point that his grades weren't in the top percentile."_

_"No, he just got bad grades." Parker replied, watching Temperance nod._

_"Well, if you're upset about something, Parker… and it's enough to make your father angry, you should probably tell me."_

_"You'll tell dad."_

_"I will help you to understand the importance of telling your father, but if it's something that is about your wellbeing, then I think that you should share it with someone. You can trust me not to tell your father, Parker. I have your best interest at heart, and I won't betray your trust. But I do need to know, especially if it isn't something that is upsetting you."_

_"I… I don't want to be Chris' kid." Parker huffed._

_"I don't understand." Temperance was honest, watching the boy as he put his book down on the table, he crossed his arms over his chest and sighed._

_"Chris…my mom's boyfriend."_

_"Yes."_

_"They want to move away."_

_Temperance's brow furrowed, and she could feel a bit of a butterfly in her stomach at the boy's words. She watched the pout on the boy's face, and he swallowed hard. "They want to move away?"_

_"Yeah." Parker sighed. "They want to move away from D.C." Parker watched as Temperance watched him carefully. "They were talking about how they missed so much together and stuff, and mom said… mom said that she wanted Chris to adopt me."_

_Temperance's jaw clenched at the boy's words, and she tried to push her emotions back into herself. She bit the inside of her cheek lightly as he spoke, trying to keep herself from exploding. She could feel the warmth moving up her neck to her cheeks as she felt flushed suddenly, knowing full well that it was the hormones that were causing her to react this way. Though she couldn't remember the last time she had such a visceral reaction._

_"They want to take me away again, Bones." He said, his eyes watering a bit as he took a slow breath in. "I don't want to be Chris' kid. I am my dad's kid. He can't adopt me if dad doesn't him want to, right?"_

_"Legally, no." Temperance replied. "And though your father has no legal… obligations, he would do anything you wanted him to do, Parker."_

_"So you think that if I tell mom that I don't want to be adopted by Chris, and she asks Dad, and Dad says no… I don't have to? Right? That's the way it works, right? If Dad says no…" Parker asked, his voice a near whimper as he allowed a tear to roll down his cheek._

_"Parker." Temperance whispered._

_"I don't want to lose him again, Bones. I don't want to lose you again either. I just found you guys again, and I don't want to lose you."_

_"Go get Antonia." Temperance said softly, leaning carefully to close her laptop. She pulled herself unsteadily into a standing position. She walked to the boy as he stood up from the couch, reaching her hand out to touch his cheek, she ran the pad of her thumb over the tear, watching it run down her finger, she followed his eyes. "I promise you, there is absolutely no way in this world anyone is going to take you from us, Parker."_

_"Where are we going?" Parker whispered._

_"We are going to go ensure that the promise that I just made you, is set in stone." She said as she watched a slight smile on the boy's face._

_"But you're not supposed to go out, Bones…"_

_"You think that a little thing like this can keep me down?" Temperance asked the boy with a sly smirk. "We'll see about that." She winked as Parker smiled and ran to gather Antonia to make their way to the Hoover._

* * *

By now, the food was gone, and Booth was watching his son as he told the story. Antonia was holding Booth securely as he listened, his breath nearly held from the story that was being told. "So she took you to the Hoover, and then what?" Booth asked as suddenly, his phone rang.

He looked at the unfamiliar number and frowned flipping it open. "Booth?" He said as he waited a moment. Parker noticed the way his father's face drained of color and his mouth dropped. "I'll be right there." He said as he flipped the phone closed. "We have to get to the hospital." He said to Parker as he pulled a couple of bills from his pocket and tossed them on the table.

"Is Bones okay?" Parker asked as Booth scooped the little girl up into his arms and Parker jumped from his seat.

"She's going into labor again, and they can't stop the contractions." He said, leading Parker through the diner.

"I don't know what that means!" Antonia exclaimed as Booth kissed her head and pushed open the door for his son, who ran toward the car.

"It means that you're going to be a big sister a lot sooner than you thought you were going to." He said, kissing the little girl's cheek with a weak smile, as he moved quickly toward the car, trying with all of the strength that he could muster, to not show the intense mixed feelings that were swirling around in his mind and heart.


	9. Here Comes the Sun

Everything seemed foggy, the walls of the room she was lying in, her thoughts, even the sounds around her seemed to blend and waver. Temperance felt light, lighter than she had in a long time, almost floating, her eyes opening to little slits as she breathed deeply the air around her. She recognized the antiseptic smell, a taste like a mix of cotton and dust in her mouth, the quiet of the room, yet the noise that surrounded her, everything blending together. She moved her head to the side, her eyes rolling slowly in her head to the side, catching a glimpse of sunlight through the curtain, she furrowed her brow. The last she remembered, it was night time. Slowly, she breathed in again, her chest lighter, her body seeming to be disconnected from the rest of her for a moment as her mind tried to wrap itself around what was going on, where she was, and what she last remembered.

Her head turned, finding the chair beside her bed was close, but occupied by no one. There was a bag across the room on the small bench in the room, and a dark pink cup sitting on the sink in the room. Temperance smacked her lips; the dryness in her throat was getting to her as she attempted to move her legs, feeling a sharp pain in her abdomen, her legs tingling at the moment, and the pain in her back. All of this brought her eyes to her abdomen, and immense panic began to take over.

She began to breathe deep, panicking breaths, her eyes now darting through the room as she tried to sit up, feeling only pain as she let out a pain filled exclamation. The door opened and a nurse rushed to her side, touching her shoulder as Temperance grabbed her for support. "Careful there, Mommy… its okay…" The nurse soothed.

"My baby? Where is she?" Temperance rasped through dry lips, for a moment forgetting what had happened, only knowing that her child was no longer inside of her. She was alone, and her child was gone. "Help." She said, groaning in pain as she fell back onto the pillow hard, tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Your little girl is just fine, Temperance. She's just fine, your husband is with her right now, and he will be right back."

"My husband?" She asked, confused as to what this woman was referring to. She was confused, and so scared, and just felt the need to cry. She could feel her heart beating wildly in her chest, her eyes flashing to the nurse. "Angela, where's… she's my birthing coach."

"Sweetie, there was nobody here but that overprotective man of yours. He's been with you every moment since you went in for the procedure. I had to practically remove him from your side with a crowbar to get him to take a break."

"Procedure?" Temperance whispered, taking a sip from the water that the nurse offered her. "I… Angela… she…"

The door opened, and Temperance's eyes flashed to the man walking into the room, one hand holding a small vase of flowers, the other holding a small pink stuffed animal of some sort, and several balloons. "And it looks like he's returned." The nurse said as she took the cup from Temperance. "It also looks like he's bought out the gift store." She smiled.

Booth was surprised by the look of shock on Temperance's face when he stepped in the room, and her eyes were changing color like a kaleidoscope as a fountain of emotions ran through her weakened body. "Bones?" He whispered his eyes light and full of life as he stepped quickly toward the bed, setting his handful of items on the small bench as the nurse excused herself quietly and he walked to her bed, his hand instantly moving to her forehead as he moved her hair from her face, pressing his forehead to hers. "Hey, baby… what's wrong?" He whispered, knowing that she was confused.

"What…? I…don't…"

"It's okay, baby…"

"I am so confused." She whimpered, her eyes meeting his as his hand settled on her cheek, his thumb slowly caressing her temple as she gripped his arm with her hand. Their eyes met, and she could feel the warmth of his hand as he gave her the most beautiful smile, his eyes sparkling back at hers as he watched her mouth open slightly, as realization washed over her. "Where is the baby?"

"She's doing alright… she's in NICU, Bones… are you okay?"

"No." She whispered, tears coming to her eyes as she closed them tightly, and lifted her arm up to move around his neck, he embraced her very carefully as she cried into his shoulder.

"She'll be okay… she'll be okay, baby…shh…" He whispered, holding her tightly, he could feel her tears in his shoulder. "It's okay, baby… its okay, Bones…"

"I don't remember." She whispered suddenly, pulling from his hug. "I don't remember any of it… what kind of mother doesn't remember giving birth?" She whispered. "Were you there? Did she cry? How much does she weigh? Is she on a ventilator? Is she okay? She's…"

"She's perfect, Bones." Booth whispered. "All three pounds of her… all fourteen inches of her… she's perfect."

"She must have health issues, Booth… her lungs… her tiny little... bradycardia? Anemia?"

"I have absolutely no idea what you're saying, Bones… the baby doctors have her right now, and she is in very, very good hands. I assure you."

"You've seen her?" Temperance whimpered, her eyes staring into his intensely.

"I've seen her…listened to her tiny cry…watched her move… counted her ten tiny, perfect toes… her ten tiny, perfect fingers..." He whispered. "She's hooked up to a lot of stuff... stuff I don't really understand, or just… don't have the stomach for, you're going to have to tell me about all of this medical stuff… because she's going to be here for a bit.

"I…" She whimpered as Booth moved carefully to sit on the bed, he kept his forehead against hers as he smoothed her hair back with his fingers.

"You did great, Bones..." He whispered. "I am so proud of you."

He felt her sigh slightly as she cuddled into him; the pain from surgery was still evident on her face, movements and slight whimper. "Are you okay, Bones?" He whispered. "Do you want me to let you have some time to…"

"No." She interrupted, her hand clamping down on his as she pulled herself into him harder, despite the pain. "Don't leave me." She whispered, falling silent for a few moments, he held her tenderly and kissed her head. "I… didn't know where I was when I woke up." her voice tiny and scared.

"That's understandable." He whispered. "You went through a lot."

"I… forgot… I mean, I didn't forget… but I… wasn't sure what was going on. Lying here alone, all I could think of was when I was in the hospital for Antonia." She whispered. Her admission was done slowly and she wasn't sure if she had overstepped a boundary, forgetting for a moment that between she and Booth, there lay no boundaries.

"You forgot that I was here." He replied, feeling her head nod against him, he kissed her forehead. "I was here."

"I know."

"Do you want me to tell you what happened?" He asked, feeling her head nod against him again, he rubbed his hand along her arm, feeling her cool skin beneath his warm touch. "Would that make you feel better?"

"Yes."

"Okay…" He said, kissing her head. "Well, I got the call last night… right after dinner at the diner with the kids."

"Oh… Ant and Parker." She said, looking into his eyes.

"They're fine… let me tell the story…" He widened his eyes at her. She could see that he was absolutely exhausted, but also that he wanted to keep her company. He smiled and she smiled back as she cuddled back into him. "Okay… so I brought the kids with me to the hospital, because I didn't have anywhere else to bring them. I called Hodgins on the way, and told him to meet me at the hospital."

"So they're with Hodgins?"

"Yeah… no… no, they're with your father."

"My father? You just said you called Hodgins…"

"Are you telling the story, or am I telling the story?" He asked, giving her a playful raise of the eyebrow.

"Sorry." She whispered, smiling slyly back at him as she cuddled sleepily into his arms again.

"Okay, so I got to the hospital just as Max arrived… and I shuttled them off with Max, telling him that you were in labor…"

"Why was my dad here?"

"Probably to see you… remember the thing with the naughty Bones leaving the house, getting shipped off to the hospital in an ambulance? I had called and left a message for him earlier." Booth sighed. "So then…I ran as quickly as I could to the Maternity ward and demanded to see you."

"Of course you did." She mumbled sleepily with a slight giggle.

"Hey…"

"Were you brandishing your weapon?"

"Bones, this is a hospital… you should never have firearms so close to oxygen…" He paused. "I flashed my badge." He mumbled.

"Were they impressed?" She asked.

He sighed deeply. "No. Apparently, a Secret Service agent's child being born is not a matter of national security." He shrugged. "However… when I asked nicely, they showed me to your room… you were… upset and breathing funny, and they were talking all of this doctor gibberish, and you have a hand like a vice, let me tell you…" He teased. She said nothing as he continued. "They announced that you were going to need a C-section… and while I get what it is and all, I wasn't sure if they'd allow me in the room when they did it… the doctor escorted me out of the room telling me that your blood pressure was getting dangerously high, and the baby's was dropping. I mean, I didn't know if they were asking for my permission, or letting me know. They prepped you for surgery, and before I knew it, I was in an operating room with you. They had given you some medication, and were still talking nonsense, and then this… blue dinosaur came into the room."

"A blue dinosaur?"

"I was just seeing if you were still listening." He smiled sheepishly, watching the glare that she gave him.

"I think you're suffering from sleep deprivation."

"Suffering? I'm enjoying every minute of it." He said with a grin, satisfied with the smooth roll of her eyes as she tried to hide her smile. "So they had me in here talking to you, and you were really out of it discussing with me the similarities between unicorns and pixies on an anthropological level… it was all very interesting."

"I did not!" She said with a giggle that was laced with a bit of a wince from the pain in her abdomen and spine. "Booth, stop making me laugh, it hurts…" She whimpered, hearing his mumbled apology in her hair.

"They had asked me before the surgery how I felt about blood, and I can honestly say that I prefer looking at the insides of dead people…"

"Booth!" She whispered her exclamation as he held her close to his heart.

"No, I'm serious… knowing that you were alive, and this blood was yours… that the little person they were holding was part of you, part of me… seeing her moving for the first time, hearing her cry… hoping that they put all of your lady parts back the way they were supposed to be."

"Booth!" She whined, another sting of pain turning it to a whisper.

"Sorry…" He said again. "She is so beautiful, Bones. We make beautiful babies."

"The nurse called you my husband." She whispered. "That confused me too."

"I may have…" he rolled his eyes up for a moment, and then looked directly to her. "I may have taken a few liberties with the term." He said, watching her eyebrow lift slowly, she moved slightly and winced.

"Is it that painful to be called such a thing?" He asked, his voice soft and not mocking. "It was just easier than saying boyfriend, or… baby daddy…" He shrugged.

"I understand." She nodded, sighing lightly as she watched him become slightly thoughtful. "Booth?"

"Hm…"

"You never told me what happened with Hodgins…"

"Oh." He nodded. "He was in the waiting room after you came out of surgery. I was in recovery with you for a good number of hours, but the nurses all but kicked me out. I went down to the waiting room to get a little rest and he was the first person that I talked to. We talked for a while… he called Angela and told her the news. It was almost dawn by then, so we had a cup of coffee and waited until the gift shop opened and went a little crazy on the gifts." He cringed. "The hospital let us see her in NICU before Hodgins left for home… and then I came back here."

"Did you tell them her name?" She whispered.

"I did… and they let me write it on a little piece of tape and put it on her tiny bed." He whispered.

"You went with the one we agreed on, right?"

"Elmo?" Booth asked, watching Temperance's eyes widen, he smiled. "Oh right, that was Antonia's suggestion." He watched her scowl at him, and couldn't help but let out a light chuckle. "Grace."

"Grace Keenan Booth." Temperance whispered.

"Grace Keenan 'Little Bones' Booth." Booth corrected, as he kissed her forehead tenderly, and held her in his arms, as she closed her eyes against him and relaxed into his embrace.


	10. Meet and Greet

Temperance and Booth rested together on the bed, he held her against him and held her, kissing her forehead when she whimpered involuntarily from the pain in her back, her abdomen, and anywhere else in her body that decided to pinch or ache at that particular moment. The nurses came in and out periodically as Booth finally closed his eyes, letting sleep whisk him away for a few moments of peace. He dreamed of tiny toes and tiny fingers, his daughter's laughter, his son's voice. He dreamed of Temperance, saying his name in a tender whisper, professing her love and thanking him for his patience.

"Booth?" Temperance's voice was a bit more forceful, and his eyes flickered open to find his head resting on her shoulder. "The nurse wants to know if you want to ride to NICU with us, or walk along the side of the bed." She said with a sarcastic smile, that his faux glare clashed with.

"I was just getting up." He grunted, his muscles sore from the incredibly uncomfortable position he had found himself in.

"Perhaps you would benefit from some physical therapy while we're here at the hospital." She asked him as he playfully poked her nose.

"Don't worry about me." He mumbled as he watched the nurse move around the bed, moving wires and tubes, and things he hadn't even noticed or wondered about before, because he was just so concerned with her face. He could see the excitement in her eyes, the happiness bubbling up through her normally reserved personality. There was a soft glowing sense that seemed to just emanate from her and make her more beautiful than ever, despite the tubes, the wires, and lack of sleep and make up, she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

"Alright, mommy and daddy…" The nurse said, attempting to gain attention from the two of them who seemed to be in their own little world. "Let's go meet that little one." She said, looking to the door as an orderly came in and helped to pull the bed, and before they knew it, they were on their way to NICU.

The bed was rolled down the hallway, and Booth caught Temperance glancing in rooms periodically, a strange, longing look on her face, he reached his hand for hers and she looked up at him. "We have one waiting for us." He winked as she smiled sleepily at his knowing her thoughts.

"I do believe that mind reading is a form of invasion of privacy."

"Try to prove that it's possible." He said, his tone full of tease and happiness as she let squeezed his hand as they neared the NICU unit of the hospital.

The next half hour or so was filled with confusion for Booth as things just happened much too fast for him to comprehend. Temperance could feel his confusion and apprehension, and held his hand as the doctors explained the procedure they had used with her, and the lengths they were going through to keep Gracie happy and healthy due to her early arrival. When they brought her into the room, there was silence between the two parents as the nurse began to explain a few things to Temperance about something they called 'kangarooing'. His head snapped in the direction of Temperance, just as they began to remove the front of her gown, Booth had to fight the urge to tell them to save the woman some dignity and give her a break, when he saw the look on Temperance's face as she watched the baby in the incubator.

Her eyes were so bright and full of excitement that tugged at his heartstrings. She looked up at him and gave him the most brilliant smile. "Preemies cannot maintain their body temperature, and while in the NICU, she will be under warmers, but they recommend what is called 'kangarooing', which is skin to skin contact with the mother, where my body temperature will regulate hers." She explained as Booth just nodded and smiled as she explained all of the other tubes and wires that were protruding as they brought the baby to her and settled her against her chest. Booth reached behind him and pulled a chair up, watching as the tiny little bundle was placed in Temperance's arms.

The baby was covered with another warmer, her tiny head visible to Booth as he watched in awe as Brennan lightly ran her finger over her little girl's skin. "Grace." She whispered, taking a slow, deep breath as tears came to her eyes.

"Bones, you okay?"

"I'm perfect." She whimpered back to him, watching his eyes, she tried to hold back the tears but found it impossible. He reached forward and carefully wiped her tears away.

The doctor explained the ventilator, a tube so large compared to the tiny baby, that it almost seemed like a monstrosity. There was an IV in her arm, sending minerals, nutrients, water, and antibiotics into her tiny body to stave off infection. She moved a bit against her mother, her face resting right against Temperance's chest, just above her heart.

"I bet she likes hearing your heartbeat." Booth whispered.

"It is very soothing for a child to hear their mother's heartbeat. It is known to regulate their own heartbeat, because they feel secure and safe hearing the sounds that they heard while in the womb, which is why it is very important that you talk to her."

"What do… I say to her?" He asked, watching Temperance run her finger over the tiny baby's skin.

"Tell her stories… tell her about yourself… about her brother and sister, about us."

"Sing?"

"You can sing." She nodded. "You can say anything, Booth."

"Can I tell her stories about you?"

"Yes."

"Will you tell her stories about me?" He asked, running his finger over the baby's tiny arm.

"Of course." She said, holding eye contact, she sensed a bit of sadness in his voice as he watched her hold the baby.

"Do you want to hold her?" She whispered, watching his eyes light up at her question.

"Can I?"

"Of course you can." She said, putting her hand on his for a moment as he kneaded the blanket with his fingers. "She's ours, Booth. She's not just yours, not just mine… ours… we're together, right? Do you want to hold her?"

"Yes." He said, watching Temperance turn to the nurse. "Wait, wait… not just yet… not just yet." He said, moving the chair just a little closer to the bed. "I want to watch you both together for a little longer."

Temperance tipped her head against the pillow, watching as he watched in wonder.

"She's really small." Booth whispered. "There's more blanket then there is her." He said, leaning over both mother and child. He was absolutely captivated by the two of them, the sounds and machines that were frightening to most parents were just a simple obstacle for him. He had faith that it would all be well, he knew how strong he was, how strong Temperance was, and he knew that this little one had to be strong as well.

"Is this your first child, Mister Booth?" The nurse asked politely as she helped hold the wires and tubes carefully.

"This is… my first birth." He whispered, still watching the baby continually. "Temperance and I have another child, but I was out of the country at the time of her birth." He replied, details were not necessary. "I also have a son…" He said, his eyes meeting with Temperance's, she could see the deeper meaning. "His mother and I have shared custody… I wasn't there for his birth." He whispered.

"But you're always going to be his father." Temperance said, not to anyone but him. He gave a simple nod and narrowed his eyes at her playfully, a hint of a sly smile on his lips.

"They're with their grandfather right now." Booth said, breaking eye contact with Temperance to look at the nurse. "Can I hold her now?" He asked, the pleading sound in his voice was endearing, and the nurse smiled and nodded, noting his enthusiasm. The nurse looked to Temperance and smiled as they gathered the baby and all of her tubes and wires and carefully transferred her to Booth's arms.

It looked so odd, this large man holding such a tiny bundle in his arms. It looked odd, but to Temperance, and to Booth, it also looked right. He looked down at the baby's face, knowing that with a few more pounds and some love and care, she would grow stronger, and that face would change, he tried his very best to memorize it. She moved a bit in his arms, her free hand moving up to wiggle her little fingers, moving against the skin of her face, he whispered to her as he dipped his finger slowly into the blanket, her little fingers grasping his, unknowing of what they were touching, but feeling the warmth, her tiny hand remained on his.

"Hey Gracie." Booth whispered. "Hey little girl." He said, watching her move a little more. "She's so tiny." He looked up at Temperance and could see the tears in her eyes. "Aw, Bones… you can have her back, I'm sorry." He whispered.

"No!" She whispered, shaking her head, wiping her tears. "No… you hold her, I want you to… I need you to hold her." She said, holding in her sob.

"Hey, Gracie… I'm your daddy." He whispered. "I'm your daddy and I promise… I'm going to love you and protect you… and read to you, and sing to you… teach you to play hockey… and football…and how to beat up any boys that try to kiss you…" He whispered, rocking her involuntarily. "You're my little princess… just like your big sister, who is going to spoil you like you wouldn't believe… and your big brother, Parker… he'll beat up any prospective boyfriends also…" Booth whispered confidently.

"Booth?" Temperance whispered as he looked up at her with a smile, and a hint of tears in his eyes. "Perhaps we should focus on getting her to eat on her own before we send her off to college."

"Oh, funny." He bantered back. "You're funny, Bones…" He said looking down at the baby. "Did you hear that? Your mommy is hilarious…" He said in small voice. "She thinks she's so funny, that mommy… that silly mommy." He said, feeling the vibration in his phone in his back pocket. "What time is it?" He asked, still looking at the baby.

"Booth, Grace isn't able to speak, and newborns have limited sight… not to mention that she's far too small to know what time even is, let alone let alone read or tell you what time it is." Temperance said, watching him look up at her with a humored expression.

"You're messing with me, aren't you?"

"Perhaps."

"God, I love you." He said with a soft smile, he looked to the nurse. "Do you have the time?"

"It's nearly noon." The nurse said with a polite smile.

"My phone is buzzing, it's probably your father." Booth said, looking to the nurse, who smiled and carefully took the baby from Booth, settling her back on her mother's chest. He pulled his phone out and checked the text message. "He's in the lobby." He said, rolling his eyes.

"Did you tell him that it was okay to come back?" Temperance asked.

"I told him I'd call him… and I hadn't gotten around to calling him yet." He said, carefully standing up.

"You can invite them up to Temperance's room if you like, Mister Booth. Though they won't be able to see the baby right away, it would be fine for Temperance to have visitors. You can take some pictures of the baby if you like, to show your friends and family." The nurse said, noting that Booth and Temperance were communicating silently, their eyes were focused on one another's.

"Thank you." Booth finally said, giving the nurse a polite smile, he looked back to Temperance.

"Bring them to my room." She nodded. "I need to see Antonia and Parker right now." She whispered.

"You're sure you're not too tired?"

"I don't care." She shrugged. "I need them more than I need sleep right now." She said. He nodded and smiled. Booth leaned down and kissed her softly as he looked down at the tiny bundle again. He snapped a couple of pictures with his phone, and tenderly said goodbye, promising to meet up with Temperance in her room.

"He seems like he's a really sweet guy." The nurse said as Booth reluctantly disappeared out of the room.

"He's the only guy." Temperance whispered, swallowing the lump in her throat as she looked down at the tiny life that she and Booth had created together.


	11. Hero Worship

Booth walked out of the NICU and down the hallway through the maternity ward to head to the elevator when he heard an exclamation of 'Daddy' coming from the other direction. He turned to see his daughter waving from the window near the nursery, his son standing beside her, and Max watching him with his eyebrows raised. Booth held his tongue, and walked quickly down the hallway toward the three of them. Max had a smarmy grin on his face, and Booth did all that he could not to wipe it off for him.

"I thought you were going to wait until I called." Booth said, his voice was a slight growl as he approached, giving his daughter a smile as he lifted her into his arms. "Hey, princess."

"Hi, Daddy… which one is my baby sister?" She asked, pointing at the babies.

"Well…" Booth said with a sigh, his eyes on Max. "If your Oompa had given me another hour or so, I'd have had mommy in her room all ready to see you guys… but right now she's visiting with the baby, so your baby sister isn't in the window right now." He said, knowing that it would be several weeks still before Grace would be in a crib like the children in the nursery.

"Good, cuz all of those babies are wrinkly and funny looking." She said, obviously not noticing the glances from family members of some of the children who were being viewed.

"Hey, hey… you were wrinkly and funny looking once." Max said, pointing at the little girl. "I remember…"

"Nuh uh… Mommy said I came out of her uterus very cute."

"Alright, alright… no uterus talk in the hallway." Booth said, trying to diffuse the situation, he looked to his son, who was very quiet. He was staring into the nursery blankly. "Parker, are you okay?"

"Yeah." He shrugged.

"Not horribly convincing there, Bub." Booth said as he glanced to Max. "Why don't we all go down to Mommy's room and wait for her, okay?" Booth asked Antonia, who nodded happily at her daddy. Max just smiled and turned as he saw Booth's glare.

"Lead the way, daddy." Max said, smiling as Booth shook his head, walking down the hall toward Temperance's room.

They walked toward the room and Booth bounced the little girl as she jabbered on about this or that, and Booth didn't want her to be concerned when they entered the room and Temperance wasn't there. "…So mommy will be in her room really soon, okay?" Booth asked. "We have to be extra careful with her, okay? Just like when mommy hurt her back."

"She had a herniated disk." Antonia said as Booth glanced to Max, who shrugged, the little girl was looking around the room. "Where is the crib, daddy? Where does the baby sleep?"

"Why don't we wait until mommy gets here, and we can answer all of your questions…" Booth asked as he walked over to the small bench and sat down with Antonia. Parker sat beside him, and Max sat on the small chair in the corner.

"Is she bringing the baby?" Antonia asked.

"That's what we're going to discuss, baby." Booth said, wishing that the nurse would just hurry and bring Temperance already, the questions were making him anxious.

"Daddy, is there really a baby?"

"Toni… shut up." Parker muttered.

"Hey, hey…" Booth said, raising his eyebrows as Parker rolled his eyes at his father, Booth sighed. Just as he was about to ask Max a question, the door opened and the bed was being pushed into the room.

"Bones." Parker said with a smile, she was moving, alive, and talking to the nurse.

"Mommy!" Antonia exclaimed happily as she watched Temperance's smile light up her face. She looked exhausted and pale, but Antonia didn't care.

"Hey guys." She said with a smile, as the nurse ensured that everything was where it should be, she leaned up as Max kissed her cheek.

"You look good, kid." Max said with a smile, he was happy to see that she was generally well, if not exhausted from everything.

"I look awful." She said, watching her daughter wiggle in her father's arms. "You can let her down, Booth." She said, watching Antonia practically run in mid air.

"Hey, hey…" Booth said as he carried her to the bed. "You have to be very careful."

"I will, I will…" She said as Booth let her down carefully, she ran to the bed side. "Where's the baby, Mommy? You don't look so fat as you did before… is the baby not in there anymore? Do you carry it around in a pouch like a kangaroo? Is she a girl? Are you sure she's a girl? Did you check to see if she had a penis?"

"Okay, okay…" Booth said, watching Parker slap his palm over his face as his cheeks turned red. "Why don't we slow down the rapid fire questions and start at the beginning. Mommy had the baby this morning, but she's very, very tiny…"

"Like the size of my finger?"

"Bigger than your finger." Booth said, watching Temperance laugh.

"My hand?"

"Alright, alright…" Booth said as everyone laughed. "She's small, okay? Three pounds… fifteen inches long… and she's got some growing to do before anyone but mommy and daddy see her… okay?"

Parker nodded his head and held Temperance's hand, she smiled to him and gave his hand a squeeze, whispering a 'thank you' to the boy.

"Grandpas can see the baby, I'm sure." Max piped in.

"No." Booth interrupted. "Just Bones and I for now." He said, taking Max's glare in stride. He watched Parker for a moment as he sighed, his hand entwined in Temperance's. His son's eyes met up with his and he gave him a supportive smile. "I told you she'd be okay."

"She's in good health?" Max asked.

"She's doing well." Booth nodded. "But like I said… she's got a lot of growing to do."

"And she doesn't have a penis, right?" Antonia asked, looking up at her father.

"Toni? Seriously?" Parker asked.

"What, I'm just checking! JV has a penis… that is because he's a boy… Parker has a…"

"Alright, alright… two words that we won't say anymore… Penis and Uterus… got it?" Booth said as Antonia looked up at her father.

"They're real words, Daddy. Can't pretend they don't exist."

He narrowed his eyes at her and she grinned looking back at her mother. "You look like a balloon that lost all its air, Mommy." Antonia said, reaching across to touch her abdomen, Booth grabbed her hand.

"No touching…"

"Can I give mommy a hug?" She whimpered, Booth's eyes met with Temperance's and she gave him a faint nod.

"Quick hug, okay?" He said, lifting the little girl into his arms, he carefully hovered her over Temperance, who hugged her daughter close to her.

"Oh, I missed this." Temperance whispered, dropping a kiss on the little girl's forehead.

"I missed you, Mommy." She whispered. Temperance released from the hug, but Booth held the little girl above her for another moment as Temperance took her daughter's face in her hands and rested her forehead against it for a moment. "I'm glad you're okay."

"I'm glad you're okay too, Bones." Parker replied, not wanting to be forgotten. Temperance leaned over and tugged Parker's hand as the boy leaned up and gave her a careful hug. "I'm sorry." He whispered.

"None of this is your fault, Parker."

"But…"

"None of it." She repeated as she kissed his forehead. "I love you."

"I love you too, Bones." Parker replied.

"I'm hungry." Booth said suddenly, getting a confused glance from Temperance. "Parker, do you want to go with me… we'll grab something to eat." He said, watching his son's eyes meet his, he nodded toward the door and back to Temperance.

"Can we visit with Bones more when we get back?"

"Of course." Booth nodded. "She's going to be here a little while, so why don't we let Max and Toni visit… and we'll take a little walk and get a bite to eat… bring something back for everyone." He said convincingly.

"Okay." Parker said, feeling Temperance grip his hand a little tighter for a moment, he looked to her. His eyes implored hers, and she could see the permission that he was seeking in his eyes. The nod was slight and subtle, but he saw it, and her eyes were supportive. "I'll be right back, Bones." He said with a tender smile. Booth glanced to Temperance, and she smiled. The same look that his son held was in his eyes, and she simply shook her head. She knew what he was looking for, and her eyes simply warned him to be open minded, as Booth turned with Parker and the two of them exited the room together.

The two Booth boys walked out into the hallway, and Booth could already tell that Parker was quickly withdrawing. Booth put his hand on Parker's shoulder as they walked, and the boy looked to his father. "Dad?" He said softly, surprising his father at his immediate forwardness. "I'm sorry about Bones." He said softly.

"We can talk about it on the way." Booth said as Parker gave his dad a bit of a sad smile. They made their way downstairs to the lobby and walked across it when Booth touched his son's shoulder. "Hey…" He said, nodding toward the seat. "Why don't we clear the air now? Then we can get our dinner… and visit with Bones with a little less weight on our shoulders, okay?"

"I'm not sure I know what that means." Parker said as he furrowed his brow at his father, eliciting a chuckle.

"Maybe you have been hanging out with Bones a little too much." He said, watching the smile appear on his son's face as they sat down together, and Parker began his tale.

* * *

_Harding hung the phone up, standing to prepare himself for another crime scene, that the Jeffersonian had already pounced on. He had been drowning in paperwork as of late and was happy to get out of the office, when he swore he heard a shout in the hallway from his office. Upon looking up, he could see through the glass door a very pregnant Temperance Brennan stomping through the bullpen like a woman on a mission._

_He started to walk around his desk when she failed to knock or even pause, her hand releasing the hand of the boy with her as she slammed it full force into the glass door and swung the door wide open._

_"Doc." He said, his brow furrowed as he looked to Parker and Antonia. Antonia seemed a bit surprised at being practically dragged by her mother to the Hoover building, a place that was foreign to her. Parker knew the Hoover pretty well, he had been here many times before, though as she stood before him, Harding could clearly see that this was not a social visit._

_"Who the hell do you think you are?" She snapped immediately, watching him take a step back._

_"Doc."_

_"Don't call me Doc!" She exclaimed. "Answer me!" She exclaimed._

_"I thought you were on bed rest." He said plainly, his eyebrows knitted in confusion._

_"Don't change the subject, Harding." She snapped, slamming her hand down on the desk, Antonia hopped into one of the chairs and put her hands in her lap, and Parker stood beside Temperance._

_"Doc, I have no idea what you're talking about. Do you need me to call Booth?" He said, reaching for the phone._

_"Touch that phone, and I'll rip your fingers off one at a time and shove them down your throat." She snapped, not seeing the eyes of her little girl widening. "You tell Booth I was here, and it'll be the last time you talk to someone, do you understand?"_

_"You think that your secret is safe with those two?" Harding teased, suddenly the focus of an even harsher glare, if it were even possible. The smile fell from his face. "Doc, it would really help if you'd clue me in as to why you're here."_

_"I understand that you went through hell as a kid. I understand that you spent most of your adult life pining for someone that you didn't think you could have... I understand that you want everything that you missed out on… but you will not… and I want you to listen very, very carefully here. You will not take this child away from his father."_

_"Parker?" Harding asked, looking at Temperance through a confused stare. "Doc, I don't…"_

_"I 'get' that you're desperate for a family, okay? And I know that you might think that Booth is a weak man, emotional and controlling… but he is a good man, a strong man… and there is absolutely no way that he would give his child to anyone… to allow someone else to force Parker into calling him his father. You are not his father, Harding! You are not his father! Look at that boy." She said, pulling Parker from the chair, the boy stood nervously against Temperance. "Look him in the eyes right now and tell him that you're going to take him away from his father! Tell him! He is a Booth, Harding! He will never be your son! He will never be your boy, your anything! He is Parker Booth… and for once in this screwed up world, I wish people would just see that and give him and his father a break! If I so much as hear a whisper of an inkling of a thought of you asking Booth to have Parker's parental rights… I will come find you, and I will… I will…"_

_"Doc… relax…" Harding said, standing up, noticing that she was having problems catching her breath._

_"Don't touch me." She growled, seemingly swallowing her discomfort. "I am fine." She said, taking a step back. "He is not your son. He is a Booth, not your boy!" She snapped when he opened his mouth to protest. She could see the agent retreating, giving in to the battle. She had said what she wanted to say, she had gotten her point across. "Are we understood?" She growled._

_"Yes." Harding nodded._

_"Good." She snarled, turning sharply, she grabbed Parker's hand and Antonia hopped from her seat and waved at Harding._

_"Bye, Ace." She said with a bit of smile as she grabbed her mother's hand, and as quickly as she had entered, she disappeared out of the door toward the elevator._

_Harding stood up and watched her disappear around the corner, Parker glanced back for a split second before he disappeared around the corner with her._

_They entered the elevator and Brennan was breathing a bit heavily, though any pain she may have been feeling was masked by each wheezing breath. "Bones, are you okay?" Parker asked._

_"I'm okay." She nodded, resting against the wall, Parker saw her wince. _

_"Bones, are you in pain? Do you want me to call dad?"_

_"No… do not call your dad…" She said, still trying to catch her breath. "Don't… I'll be okay." She whimpered as she looked up._

_"Mommy, are you okay?" Antonia whimpered, noticing that Temperance was holding her belly._

_"Mommy is just fine." She whispered as they got to the parking garage. "Mommy is just fine." She said. "Mommy is fine." The doors opened and Parker stepped forward to hold the door. _

_"Bones, maybe we should have stayed home."_

_"No way." She shook her head. "There is no way I am going to sit at home and let anything happen behind my back. There is no way."_

_"Bones, are you sure you're okay?"_

_"I just need to sit down… I'm okay." She said, walking toward the car slowly, Antonia continued to watch her mother. Suddenly, Temperance stopped._

_"Mommy?"_

_"No." She whimpered as she took another step toward the car. Instead of opening the door, she rested her head against it. "No." She whispered._

_"No? No what, Bones?" Parker whispered. "Bones, are you okay? Are you hurting? Bones?" Parker asked, noticing that she was beginning to sweat, her breathing erratic. "Bones, I am calling Dad…"_

_"What's going on, Mommy?" Antonia asked. "What's going on? Mommy? Are you okay? Mommy?" Antonia asked._

_"Toni, just give her a minute." Parker said. "Bones, do you need me to call Dad?" He said, leaning against the car, her head was resting on the window, he could see the grimace on her face as she suddenly let out a pain filled grunt, turning around against the car, her hands were on her abdomen as she tried to hold her breath against the pain. "Bones!"_

_"Mommy!" Antonia exclaimed as Temperance let out another pain filled shout and slid against the car, lifting herself to the ground in a sitting position as she tried to control her breathing, control the pain, control her emotions as she burst into tears at the excruciating pain._

_Parker grabbed Temperance's bag and rooted through it quickly for her phone. He grabbed it and dialed a number as quickly as he could, trying so very hard to remain calm as everything around him began to fall apart. "Dad! You have to get here now!" Parker shouted into the phone._

* * *

Booth patted his son's back lightly and watched Parker stare at the floor as he finished the story, the boy's head was shaking as he sighed and looked up at his father. "I shouldn't have told her, Dad… I shouldn't have told you. I don't want you guys to be mad at Chris. I don't want to cause any trouble."

"Parker." He said, watching the boy's eyes meet up with his as he raised an eyebrow. "There is absolutely no way in hell that I would ever, ever give up my legal rights as your father. Like Bones said…you're a Booth. You're just like your old man…"

Parker gave his father a cocky grin, that grin that matched his father's and held that same glint in his eye. "Aw, Dad… You're not that old." He said, punching him in the shoulder playfully with a full grin.

"Ow… hey… watch it, that hurt." Booth said, teasing his son as he shook his head. "Bones doing alright and the baby is doing alright. As far as I'm concerned, you saved their lives. You're a hero."

"I'm not a hero, Dad."

"Ask Bones… she'll tell you… and trust me, Bones does not take hero worship lightly." He winked.

"Are you going to kill Harding?"

"Nah." He shook his head. "But I may make him think that I'm going to. Fear is always just a little more powerful than actual violence."

"And a lot less messy."

"Right." Booth said, giving his son a confused look.

"I mean…"

"Don't worry about it…" Booth said, standing up. He held his hand out to his son and smiled. "Now let's go get some food…son." He said, as Parker grabbed his hand and pulled himself up.

"Sounds like a good idea, Dad." Parker said, giving his dad another punch on the arm, as the two Booth boys left the hospital together on a search for some real food.


	12. Shadow Box

When Booth and Parker returned from their lunch run, they entered the room slowly as the attention was brought on the two of them. Antonia immediately jumped from where she was sitting on Max's lap and ran to her father's side.

"Daddy, did mommy tell you the news about the baby?" Antonia asked, noting her father's confused glance. "She said that her name is not Elmo." She sighed.

"No?" Booth feigned shock as he handed the take out bags to Parker and lifted the little girl into his arms. "That's a shame."

"I know. I was disappointed." She sighed, looking to Temperance. "Mommy says her name is Grace."

"Grace Keenan Booth." Booth said with a smile. Max and he exchanged a nod of respect and acceptance and Booth noticed the little girl's brow furrow.

"No Daddy, Brennan." She replied, her voice softly whimpering as she looked toward Temperance. "Grace Keenan Brennan, right Mommy?"

Temperance and Booth exchanged a glance as Parker held up the bag of take out. "We had to sneak this past the doctors!" He said, sensing the tension of the room evaporate quickly as everyone turned to look at the sheepish grin on his face.

"Leave it to your boy to distract everyone with food." Max teased as Booth sat in the chair beside Temperance's bed and laughed, grabbing the bag from Parker as the boy laughed and handed it over.

* * *

Nearly an hour later, Temperance found that most of her conversation was with Parker and her father as Booth and Antonia sat in one of the chairs in the corner reading as everyone visited. Upon another glance though, the two in the corner had gone silent, and Temperance laughed softly at the sight.

Booth was sitting upright, his arms securely around the little girl, the book fallen to the wayside. His head was tilted at an uncomfortable angle, yet it rested on his daughters as she curled herself into him as much as she could, her head nestled in his neck.

"He has had a rather restless couple of days." She whispered.

"Well, I woke up at nearly four in the morning to the sound of cartoons, and guess who was up and dressed, watching television." Max replied.

"She wasn't…" Temperance gasped.

"Well, it appears that they've both reached their breaking point." She said with a bit of a laugh.

"Everyone has one." Max said as he stood up and stretched. "You must be exhausted yourself."

"I am."

"Did you want me to take the kids back to my place? I can keep them with me tonight if you and Booth wanted to have some time."

"I'd prefer if Booth stays with them this evening." She said, watching Max's eyes flick to the two in the corner. "I just… if Antonia has questions, I want him to be the one to answer them."

"The last name thing on your mind?" Max asked.

"There are quite a few issues on my mind right now concerning Antonia, the last name thing is only one of them. She is quite sensitive." Temperance said, watching the two in the corner as they slept. "Booth will be able to explain it so that she understands, but sometimes I worry about him as well."

"He's a strong man, Tempe." Max said, watching Parker listening to their conversation, he smiled. "And he has good back up too." He chuckled as Parker returned to reading his book.

* * *

The afternoon at the hospital had worn on quite quickly, and Booth woke up a bit cramped and uncomfortable, but a bit more rested. Once he was awake and moving, and Antonia was curled securely in his arms, Max announced that he would be going.

Temperance insisted that Booth take the children home for the night, that she would be perfectly fine on her own, and that she wanted him to get a decent and more comfortable sleep in his own bed. The topic of which Parker and Booth had talked about earlier in the day went unspoken, but the boy remained a bit more upbeat and happier than he had been that morning after he had assessed Temperance's recovery. Once an agreement was made, another trip to see the baby was made by the proud father, and Angela and Hodgins arrived for a visit, Booth finally felt a bit less stressed, and agreed that it was probably time to get the kids to the house and settle them in for the night.

Booth walked into the house slowly, carrying his precious cargo in his arms, Antonia had fallen asleep on the way there, and she had hardly moved when he lifted her from the car seat. "Parks, just be careful on the stairs, there are a few boxes at the top still." He said, watching his son nod his head and kick his shoes off, making his way quickly up the stairs of the house.

They had only just moved into the house two weeks earlier and there were still boxes lining several corners of the house. The only rooms that were completed was Antonia and Parker's, for they thought they had at least ten more weeks for the baby, the nursery wasn't completed nearly yet. Booth kicked a box to the side so that he wouldn't trip, and pulled his shoes off and left them beside Parker's as he walked quickly up the stairs with Antonia.

He entered her brand new bedroom, decorated by Angela the week before, while Antonia helped to 'babysit' JV, a task that included announcing when the baby would cry or make any sort of noise, much to the enjoyment of the little girl.

The blue walls were brightened when Booth turned on the light, the white clouds that were painted on the walls seemed to glow as he walked around her bed and carefully lay her among the pink and white ruffles under the canopy that she insisted she needed over her new bed. Booth walked to her dresser and pulled out a pair of pajamas, knowing that she was far too tired to get a bath tonight, and that it would have to wait until morning. He walked to the bed and started to change her, her eyes sliding open sleepily as Booth did what he described as the 'Zombie Jammie change'. All comfortable in her pajamas, he pulled back the blankets and tucked her beneath them, covering her with the blanket.

She opened her eyes to see Booth tenderly kissing her forehead and she whimpered a little. "Daddy… I want to sleep in my princess dress…"

"Maybe another night, little one…"

"Mm…" She grunted, a scowl on her face as she sighed.

"You look like your mama when you do that." He said, poking her nose, she opened her eyes and rolled to her side.

"I miss her." Antonia whimpered.

"I miss her too, little one." He said, tucking her little stuffed elephant in with her on the bed.

"She's all alone, cuz we're here and she's not."

"She's not all alone." Booth shook his head. "She has doctors and nurses… and baby Grace to keep her company." He said, tucking her hair behind her ear, he watched her contemplate his words. "And we're here thinking about her, right? That means something."

"And we're praying for her, right?"

"Right." Booth said softly, his eyes moving over the little girl's delicate features, he was taken aback by how much she looked like her mother.

"Daddy?" She asked softly, watching Booth's tender expression, his eyebrows lift just slightly in question. "Why isn't Grace's last name Brennan?" She asked, the pinchy look on her face was an exact replica of another Brennan he knew and loved.

Booth didn't want to stammer, or lie, and he knew that this question would come up eventually, though he never thought he'd be ready to answer it. "Well…" He said, swallowing hard as he watched the little girl. "You remember how we talked about the French fries that time in the diner… how I've known you for three whole French fries?"

"Uh huh." She nodded.

"Well…I've known Gracie since she was a… um… since she was a tater tot…" Booth said, scrunching his face up in a confused expression, he watched Antonia's eyebrow raise. "Which… you know, is… before you become a French fry… and when you're a tater tot… that means that both mommy and daddy are there to give you your name… and I've known you since… you were a small fry… a little bigger than a tater tot, and by the time I met you… your mama had already named you." He shrugged. "I like your name."

Her eyes followed his as if she were trying to read his expression, those eyes on his as she watched him very closely. "I like my name too." She said softly.

"Your mommy thought a long time about what she was going to name you, you know… giving someone a name is not very easy… it's something that a person has to live with for their whole life, and your mommy picked your name after a lot of thinking. I think it's a very beautiful name."

"I am a very beautiful little girl." She said with her mother's sincerity, that he couldn't help but smile.

"And so very modest too!" Booth teased, giving the little girl a tickle.

"I don't know what that means!" She laughed out loud as he kissed her forehead.

"I love you so much, Antonia Elyse Brennan."

"I love you too Daddy Deuce Booth…" She giggled as he shook his head.

"Do you know where your first name comes from?"

"Mommy said it's from the Saint on my necklace." She said, touching the small chain around her neck, the necklace that she had refused to take off since it had been returned to her months earlier. "Remember Daddy? Remember Saint Anthony?"

"I could never forget, baby girl." Booth said as he began their whispered goodnight prayers together as he thought of the night between he and Temperance, when she finally admitted to him the thoughts behind naming their child.

* * *

_Booth held Temperance in his arms, securely and tightly as they both tried to sleep. Her back was hurting, and she could find no sleep, and he couldn't sleep knowing of her discomfort. "You don't have to stay up with me, Booth." She whispered, turning her head to see him staring at the ceiling._

_"I do." He replied, rolling to his side. "I hate it when you're in pain."_

_"I know." She said, trying to keep the pain from her expression, it was nearly impossible. "I'll be alright."_

_"Maybe if you… tell me a story it'll help relax you." He said, watching the amusement in her eyes._

_"Tell you a story? Are you a child?" She teased._

_"Sometimes." He said, leaning his head up hand, he propped himself up with his elbow. "Tell me a story…"_

_"What kind of story?"_

_"Tell me… about Antonia." He said, watching her eyes flicker to his, her brow furrowed. _

_"What do you want to know?"_

_"Tell me about the day you decided to name her…" He whispered._

_"Booth." She said, watching as she gave him a pointed look._

_"Bones." He replied in the exact same tone. "I want to know." He shrugged._

_"You know the origins of her name."_

_"I like it better when you tell me." He shrugged._

_"She's… named after Saint Anthony… patron saint of lost items." She replied in a near mumble, not looking into his eyes. "I had… looked through a book of names, and none of them seemed to suffice. Origin and meaning meant nothing. I needed to pick something that was… something that was you." She swallowed._

_"So, you chose a Saint."_

_She swallowed, her eyes flicking to his. "Yes."_

_"And her middle name?" He asked, a devilish grin on his face as she shook her head and laughed._

_"Booth…"_

_"Come on… out with it." He teased, leaning over to kiss her lips, she looked into his eyes._

_"It's your first name… scrambled…"_

_"With a missing 'e'." He pointed out._

_"Well yes, I couldn't very well put three in her middle name, that would be ridiculous." She said as he laughed at the tone of her voice. "Do you like her name? Did I pick a worthy name for our child?"_

_"You picked a perfect name for our child." He said, rubbing his thumb over her hand as she smiled into his eyes._

_"Now we just have to think of a good name for this little one." She whispered as she laid her hand over her abdomen, her eyes locked on his._

_"Grace." He whispered, smiling into her eyes. "Because I can't think of anything more than how lucky I am to have all of the things that I have."_

_"Grace." Temperance whispered, her eyes flashing to her abdomen and back to his loving eyes. "I love it."_

_"I love you." He whispered, kissing her tenderly on the lips, her eyes sliding closed as he kissed her cheek and temple tenderly, holding her in her arms until they both fell asleep._

* * *

Booth was shaken from his memory by the sound of knocking, and looked to the bed to see that Antonia had fallen fast asleep during his story. He kissed her cheek sweetly and ensured that her blanket was pulled comfortably around her and stood up. He walked toward the doorway and listened again, hearing nothing.

He looked into Parker's room to see the boy had fallen asleep on top of his sheets, and Booth stepped into the room and quickly covered him up, listening to his random mumblings of a sleep deprived boy. Booth said a tender goodnight and closed his door behind him, walking down the steps slowly, he heard another tentative knock. Tired and worn, he sighed, and swung the door open without even looking to see who was at the door.


	13. Clear the Air

The moment he saw the shadow of the figure in his doorway, Booth's hand reached out and he grabbed his arm, yanking the person at the door hard, his grip like a vice as he swung him around.

"Jesus, Deuce!" Harding exclaimed, the wind knocked out of him as soon as he hit the wall. "Is this how you greet all of your guests?" He asked as Booth held him up against the wall.

"Shut up." Booth grunted, his grip tight, the anger in his eyes overt and real.

"How is Doc?"

"I said shut up." He exclaimed as Harding grabbed Booth's shoulders and tried to pull him off.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Harding asked as he tried to push the other man off him as he felt Booth's grip tighten.

"What the hell is wrong with me?" Booth asked, slamming him into the wall again, the house rattled. "What the hell do you think is wrong with me?" He asked. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Deuce… we can talk about this!"

"There's nothing to talk about!" Booth exclaimed, swinging him around, he threw Harding across the floor.

"Deuce, there's been a misunderstanding!"

"Keep your voice down, my kids are trying to sleep!" Booth growled.

"You're the one that's attacking me!" Harding said as Booth stalked close to him, Harding stood up and tried to scramble away just as Booth grabbed him by his collar.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" Booth growled.

"I know what this is about, Booth… I know what this is about, and there's been a misunderstanding!"

"Then you better stop whining and start explaining, Ace… because I'm about to kick your ass." Booth said as he lifted Harding up and pushed him against the nearest wall. "Start talking!"

"What did she tell you?"

"She? Who, She? Bones? Bones didn't tell me anything!" Booth exclaimed.

"How is the baby, by the way?"

"She's fine, thanks for asking… Now tell me what the hell Bones was doing in your office!" He shouted, slamming Harding back again. "Tell me how my son telling me that he doesn't want to be adopted by you even came up in a conversation!" He shouted as Harding tried to move away from the wall, only to have Booth grab him by the throat and hold him against the wall. "Where do you think you're going?" He growled.

"Daddy! Let go of Ace!" A voice exclaimed loud and clear from the bottom of the stairs as all of the anger that Booth had in his heart diminished with just the sound of her voice. He dropped the man he was holding and turned. At the bottom of the stairs stood Antonia, Deuce tucked tightly in her arms and her eyes filling with tears as she stared across at Booth with a devastatingly hurt look on her face. He stood with his hands shaking, as Parker descended the stairs quickly, and the little girl turned immediately and buried her face in his side.

"Dad?" Parker whispered, swallowing hard when he saw Harding on the floor trying to catch his breath, there was a deadly silence in the room.

"Toni." Booth whispered, taking a step forward, the little girl turned and ran up the stairs as quickly as she could. Booth turned toward Harding and glared at him looking up at him. "You stay right there." He snapped, stepping toward the stairs as Parker held his hand out.

"I'll check on her." Parker said, looking between Harding and Booth, his father stopped as Parker turned and went up the stairs quickly. Booth stopped and turned toward Harding.

"Don't look at me, Deuce… that was all you."

"Shut the hell up and get off the floor, you idiot." Booth grunted as he held his hand out to help Harding from the floor. Harding glared and pulled himself off the floor as he shook his head.

"I wasn't born yesterday." He said, watching as Booth tried to catch his breath.

"No… no you weren't." Booth replied with a sly grin.

"So what the hell is your problem, anyway… sexually frustrated?"

"Shut up." Booth said, punching Harding in the shoulder as he passed him and walked toward the stairs. "Tell me what my kid told me today was the truth, and I'm going to kill you." He said, looking up the stairs.

"I said, it was a misunderstanding."

"How about instead of you continuing to say that… why don't you explain to me how it was a misunderstanding before I kick the living crap out of you." He said as he glared, walking toward the kitchen. "Do you want a beer?"

"Sure." Harding said, following Booth, he approached the refrigerator just as Booth turned quickly, and he flinched, sending a smile onto his friend's lips. "You're an ass, you know that?"

"Just shut up and tell me why my son thinks you're going to move away and adopt him."

"The move away thing." Harding sighed. "Is true…" He said, watching Booth glare as he twisted the cap off his beer and took a step forward. Harding held out his hand. "Not far, not far… Jesus, Deuce…"

"Listen, Ace…"

"Hey, I know." He said, watching Booth's jaw clench. "It was an innocent conversation, and I think Parker only heard it in pieces. We want to find a house… and adopt…" His eyes widened as Booth grasped the beer in his hand tighter. "Adopt a child together… Jesus man, you need to take some medication or your blood pressure is going to…"

"Shut up." Booth warned, watching Harding's mouth snap closed. "Why did he think that you were talking about him?"

"Parker was part of the conversation, but mostly because we were trying to discuss visitation… the kid is twelve… he likes the school he's at now. Rebecca doesn't want to pull him out of it, but we don't think we want to live in that neighborhood."

"So what are you saying?" Booth asked, his eyes narrowing suspiciously.

"He has his own room here." Harding nodded toward the door. "A little sister… two little sisters… his father."

"I don't understand."

"You understand."

"You talked Rebecca into…"

"And making it a legal contract, Booth. She wants to discuss giving you full time custody of Parker, and allowing him to visit her on weekends and holidays. That way he can stay in the school that he wants to stay in with his friends… and spend more time with you."

"And you couldn't have just told us?"

"We were just getting paperwork drawn up for it last week, Booth. It was supposed to be a father's day gift."

"But Parker overheard… and told Bones, and she…"

"Freaked out."

"Hey." Booth glared.

"Come on, man… she kind of freaked out."

"Bones doesn't freak out. She is passionate… protective…"

"She freaked out."

"Okay, so maybe… maybe she freaked out a little bit." Booth said as he stood up. "Listen… I have to take care of…"

"Explaining to your daughter why you were trying to kick my ass?"

"Yeah." Booth said. "You gonna stick around or take off?"

"I should probably get home." He said as he sighed. "Still have to work with the squints on that crime scene from yesterday. Is the baby okay?"

"She's small, and it was way too early… but I think she's definitely got a lot of fight in her."

"Name?" He asked, watching Booth's lip slide into his mouth, his eyes narrow.

"Grace." Booth whispered.

"You didn't." Harding whispered. "Deuce?"

"You're my brother."

"Deuce." He shook his head, his eyes filled with tears as he grabbed Booth's shoulder and pulled him in for a hug.

"Hey man, don't be a big baby about this…"

"Don't you dare act like this isn't a big deal, you asshole." Harding said as he pulled out of the hug.

"Your mother was a strong woman, kid." Booth said, giving Harding a playful punch on the shoulder. "She's got to be really proud of you."

"You're a son of a bitch, you know that?"

"I love you too, kid… now get the hell out of my house so I can tend to my kids, and get some sleep."

"Tell Doc thanks too."

"I'm not doing your dirty work for you… you can talk to Bones yourself… unless you're afraid of her." Booth said with a playful smirk.

"Goodnight, Booth." Harding said, taking a last sip of his beer before he discarded it.

"Goodnight, Chris." Booth said, watching his friend disappear through the door, as Booth took a deep breath before walking out behind him to handle the situation that he had caused from his earlier outburst.


	14. BiPolar

Booth walked up the stairs slowly, listening for the sound of his children's voices, he heard nothing, but as he got to the landing, he saw his son standing in the hallway. "She locked herself in the bathroom." Parker said as he watched Booth glance into his and Brennan's bedroom toward the closed bathroom door.

"Did she say anything to you?" Booth asked, watching Parker shake his head.

"What did Chris want?" Parker asked.

"He just wanted to clear up a few things."

"Am I in trouble?" Parker whispered.

"We're just going to have a little talk about jumping to conclusions, okay?"

"Okay." Parker nodded.

"Get to bed… I'll take it from here, thanks bub."

"Goodnight, Dad."

"Goodnight, Parks." Booth said, sighing as he walked into his bedroom. "Toni?" Booth said, noticing that the bathroom light was off. "Baby girl?" Booth said, sitting in front of the bathroom, he listened for a moment. "Toni, I know you're mad at daddy." He sighed. "Please open the door?"

"No." The response was tiny and wavering.

"Aw, baby girl… I am sorry." He whispered. "Daddy didn't hurt Ace." He listened, and still no word.

"I want mommy, please." She whimpered.

"Sweetheart, mommy… you know that mommy is in the hospital."

"I want mommy, please." She repeated.

He closed his eyes and rested his head on the door, trying to think of some way to convince her to come out, and the memory of her description of her ordeal nearly a year ago came into his mind.

_"I was waiting for Deuce, and I heard a big boom… and when I heard the big boom, I tried to hide under my bed, but the man came in and he found me and he put the blanket on my head and he took me away."_

He felt a chill down his spine when he thought of her words mixed with the memory of the incident itself, and the thoughts of her nightmares since. He could feel the guilt twisting his stomach and closed his eyes for a second. "Sweetheart, daddy isn't a bad man. I am so sorry that I scared you."

"I am invisible." She whispered through the door.

Booth closed his eyes, willing her words away. "You're not invisible, Toni." He replied. "Listen to me… Ace… Ace is like my little brother, kind of like you are Parker's little sister… but you know, Ace is a little more girly than…" He paused and cleared his throat. "Toni, remember yesterday when Parker hit you because he was upset? Remember when he was being the big, bossy brother?" He paused. "Do you remember? Sometimes big brothers can get a little… bossy and mean and stupid… and I told him I'm sorry, please don't be mad at me anymore. If you're mad at me, I don't know what I'll do." He said.

"Will you cry?" The little girl asked from the other side of the door.

"Huh?" Booth asked.

"If I am mad at you, will you cry?" She asked.

"Yes… yes, if you're mad at me, I'll cry."

"Like a big baby?" She asked innocently.

"Yes… I'll cry like… like a big baby if you're mad at me, or if you're scared of me… or if I made you upset." He said, watching the doorknob wiggle just a little, a click of the lock. "Please open the door and talk to me."

"You gonna be nice to Ace?"

"I'll be nice to Ace." He replied, rolling his eyes.

"I will ask him, daddy."

"I know, I know you'll ask him."

"And you'll tell mommy that you were bad?"

"Antonia…" He whined.

"Daddy."

"I'll tell mommy that I was bad."

"And you'll let me sleep in my princess dress tonight?"

"Alright… this hostage negotiation is over, little one…" He said, turning the doorknob, he carefully pushed the door open and flicked on the light, finding the little girl behind the door looking up at him. Her brown eyes were wide, and a slight smile was just sitting at the edge of her lips. Booth was afraid of giving into her charms, that face had a way of getting exactly what it wanted. "You are very manipulative."

"I am not a man, Daddy. I am a little girl."

"Yes, yes… that's right…" He said as he carried her into her bedroom, he put her in the bed and pulled the blankets up onto her.

"Daddy?"

"Hm?" Booth asked, leaning down to kiss her forehead, he crouched down to her level and watched her roll onto her side and faced him.

"Was that you or Deuce beating up on Ace?" She whispered.

"Sweetheart, we've had this talk." Booth whispered.

"Are you Daddy now, or Deuce now?" She asked.

"Daddy. I'm always daddy… I was always daddy before too… sweetie, Deuce is gone now."

Her brow furrowed as she watched Booth, her lip quivering slightly as she took in a deep breath and released it in a slight huff of air.

"But I love Deuce." She whimpered.

"I know, baby… but we talked about this." He whispered.

* * *

_Sitting at their table at the diner, Booth sat across from Antonia and laid his hand down flat on the table. "So what do you want for our special daddy, Toni lunch?" He asked, tipping his head in question._

_"Ice cream." She said, her voice serious and clear._

_"For lunch, not dessert, you crazy kid." Booth said, reaching across, he tickled the little girl on her shoulder and she scrunched her nose and giggled as she moved away._

_"Daddy?" She asked, leaning on the table a little, she watched Booth look up at her with raised eyebrows. "I miss Deuce." His brow furrowed, this was not something he expected. "I dreamed that Deuce came to my window."_

_"Sweetheart."_

_"I want him to come back."_

_"Antonia, you know that Deuce can't come back."_

_"I don't."_

_"Would you rather have daddy, or Deuce?"_

_"Both, thank you." She replied, picking up the menu, she missed Booth's scowl._

_"Antonia, you can't have both. Deuce is gone now."_

_"I didn't ask him to leave."_

_"He had to go, Toni… so that daddy could be your daddy."_

_She put the menu down and looked at him, lifting her eyebrow with a scrutinizing glare. "But sometimes I like Deuce… and sometimes I like daddy."_

_"Toni. You don't get a choice in the matter."_

_"That's not fair."_

_"Some things aren't fair." He said, watching her pout appear in full force. "Don't you dare."_

_"I'm not hungry anymore." She said, putting the menu down, she crossed her arms and sat back in her chair, breathing in a huff._

_Booth watched the stubborn little girl sitting across from him and watched as she stared back at him. Her eyes were as challenging as her mother's and her stubbornness was twice as tough. She was not a perfect mix of her parents in that department, no… her stubbornness was doubled, and Booth knew that fact. "Then you can watch me eat." He said, waving the waitress over. He made sure to order an extra grilled cheese sandwich and fries, and an extra glass of chocolate milk as he then put his attention back on the little girl. She remained quiet and brooding as she and her father had quite the staring contest._

_When the food was delivered, Antonia watched as the waitress put it on the table, and Booth pulled it all over to his side. He started to eat his lunch and watched as the little girl watched him, her face appearing to show a bit of hurt. He raised his eyebrows when she sighed for the third time. "What's wrong?"_

_"I'm hungry." She said, watching Booth give her an amused smile._

_"You're hungry?"_

_"Yeah." She sighed. _

_"Listen." Booth said as he watched Antonia swallow hard as she leaned in to listen. "Deuce was only half of me, Toni… he was always a part of who I was, who I used to be… but now I'm your daddy. I can be Deuce and a whole lot more. I will always protect you, and I will always love you… but I don't want to hide anymore, and I would much rather use the door than the window."_

_"But Daddy…"_

_"Hey… thinking about Deuce and missing him… I understand, and it's okay to miss it sometimes… but I can't be just Deuce anymore, kiddo." He said, sliding the grilled cheese sandwich across the table to her. "I like having lunch with you." He said, watching her lift half of the sandwich from the plate, she looked up at him. "Deuce never had lunch at the diner with you, did he?"_

_"I like having lunch with you too, daddy." She said, a slight smile on her lips as she took a bite of her sandwich and chewed, watching his eyes as he smiled back at her, happy to just be in her company, out in the open… even if she didn't fully understand how important it was to him._

* * *

Antonia watched her father's eyes as he watched her back, his eyes moving slowly over her features as he ran his fingers through her hair. "Daddy? Why can't I meet my sister?"

"She is still very, very tiny." Booth whispered. "Your mommy's tummy was where Grace was growing… where all of her tiny insides and outsides were forming… and she… came out early, so she has a bit of growing to do before she can come out and meet people."

"Daddy, she wasn't in mommy's tummy. She was in her uterus…"

"Okay, okay…" Booth said, dropping the conversation before it became more awkward. "She's very small… and we don't want her to get sick."

"When can I meet her?"

"Well…" Booth said, knowing that being born ten weeks premature could put her in the hospital for several weeks without interaction, he needed to come up with a solid answer, because Antonia was very often a little too smart for her own good. "A couple more weeks… we want her to be stronger… and a little bigger." He nodded.

"But you and mommy can see her, right?"

"Right." Booth nodded.

"Can you tell her that I love her?"

"I can tell her that you love her." Booth replied.

"I love you too, Daddy."

"I love you, sweet girl." He whispered, leaning toward her, he dropped a kiss on her forehead and watched her eyes close as she cuddled her toy close to her, and drifted to sleep.


	15. Voices Calm The Soul

Temperance stared at the ceiling, the pain in her back and her stitches were making her feel uncomfortable, and only mixed with the feeling of loneliness. Booth had called her as soon as the sun had risen, and promised he'd be there with her as soon as he got Antonia and Parker to school. Angela and Hodgins had visited the night before, and brought the baby with them so that she could see him. She was in too much pain to hold him, but she watched Angela cradle her little one and couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy.

* * *

_Temperance watched Angela cradle her son, rocking him gently in her arms as she fiddled with the pacifier in his mouth. Her eyes flickered to her friend and she noticed a bit of sadness in them. "Hey, are you okay, sweetie?"_

_She sucked in a deep breath and attempted a smile. "I'm okay."_

_"Are you sure? Do you need a tissue or something? Do you want me to call Booth?"_

_"No." She shook her head. "No, I'm okay. I'm just… I'm just grateful that I have such good friends." She said softly. "Thank you."_

_"Oh, sweetie…" Angela said, handing JV off to Hodgins, she stepped closer to the bed and leaned on the edge. "We love you very much. Are you sure you're okay?"_

_"Yes." She said, wiping the tears from her cheeks, she took a deep breath and released it slowly. "Just experiencing a large increase in hormones being released, causing me to react emotionally to just about everything. I'm okay."_

_"Do you want to call Booth?"_

_"No." She shook her head. "I mean… I do, I just…"_

_"Then we're calling Booth." She said, glancing to Hodgins, who handed Angela the cell phone._

_"Ange, its fine. I'm just a little emotional… he's busy with Parker and…"_

_"Booth?" Angela said into the line as she ignored her friend's protests. "She's fine, she's fine too… we're going to be here a little longer… but she needs to talk to you." Angela said, handing the phone to Temperance. "He wants to be here for you, Bren… let him." She whispered as her friend took the phone shakily._

_"Hi." Temperance said softly, hearing a soft sigh on the other end of the line._

_"Hey." His voice was soft and tender and instantly she felt the tension she had been feeling drain from her body. "Are you okay?"_

_"I'm fine."_

_"Just needed to hear my voice?" He asked. "Wanted to make sure I'm still here?" He teased, but he knew that she would take it seriously._

_"I understand that my thoughts are irrational, and that I only spoke with you an hour ago, but…"_

_"You don't need an excuse to call me. I am here."_

_"How is Antonia? Has she had any nightmares?"_

_"She's finally asleep. No nightmares."_

_"Would you tell me if she had nightmares?"_

_"Absolutely not." He replied. "You need to rest. We can take care of things here."_

_"Booth." She whispered, pausing just for a moment before continuing. "I was at the Hoover to see Ace." She said quickly. "I was only there because Parker said that he wanted to take him away… I won't let them take him away from you, Booth." She said, watching Angela's eyes widen, she gripped the phone tighter._

_"I wouldn't let that happen either, Bones. Never."_

_"I just wanted you to know. I thought you should know."_

_"Bones?"_

_"Hm?"_

_"Ace came over here tonight. We talked, everything is fine now."_

_"He's not taking Parker?"_

_"No. I would never let him take Parker, Bones. I would never let anyone take any of you away from me."_

_"What if it's beyond your control?" She whispered._

_"Bones, please rest."_

_"I miss you." She admitted, without regret or holding back, the words slipped from her lips and she could almost see the smile on his face._

_"I miss you too. I will see you in just a few short hours."_

_"Booth?"_

_"Hm…?"_

_"Don't take this the wrong way, okay…"_

_"Okay." He said, his brow furrowing as he waited for her to reply._

_"But… just remember with Antonia… You're the daddy, and she's the little girl."_

_"Hey…"_

_"I'm just saying, you have a tendency to be more of her friend than parent at times, and she does take advantage. She's smart."_

_"She takes after her mother."_

_After a pause, he heard her gentle 'goodnight', and whispered his own words of slumber before hanging up, leaving Temperance with her friends, feeling much better than before Angela had handed her the phone._

* * *

Now it was morning, and she was feeling rather grumpy, a heavy sigh made her feel slightly better, but she felt groggy and miserable as she waited for Booth's arrival. She wanted to be doing something more than lying in this bed, she wanted to be walking or reading, or talking to someone. She just wanted to hold her baby, talk to her little girl, craving human attention as soon as her eye had opened that morning.

She hadn't noticed that the door had opened slightly, and two brown eyes were peeking in at her. She let out a grumpy groan and sighed, turning her head, her eyes caught the sight of the door opening slightly. Her eyes lightened a bit when she saw him smiling in at her, and instantly all of the irritation and frustration she had been feeling seemed to slide away effortlessly as if it had never existed. "What were you thinking about just then?" He asked as he watched her brow furrow just a bit.

"I was just thinking… that I could really use a hug right about now."

"Well you're in luck." He said, giving her just a small smile that looked as if he were trying to hide it. "I brought two whole armfuls of those for you." He whispered, approaching her bed tenderly, he very carefully reached his arms around her, holding her close to him, as he felt her cling onto him, happy to just have him near.


	16. Belligerent

_Okay... it's been a couple of days since the birth... It's time for Mama to go home._

_May 3rd_

The two little feet that were pattering alongside the two larger feet were struggling to keep up. Her tiny hand was wrapped tightly in her father's hand, and she looked up at him curiously. His eyes were determined as they walked through the hallway of the hospital toward her mother's room. "Daddy… slow down." Antonia whined slowing her pace so that Booth would have to pull a bit harder, and be forced to look down at her. "Daddy…"

He looked down at his little girl and a smile broke the concentrated look in his eyes as he shook his head and tugged her arm, pulling her up quickly into his arms, she held tightly to her little stuffed elephant. "Hey, sometimes I forget you have tiny legs." He said, kissing her cheek. "Sorry about that."

"It's okay, daddy. Sometimes I forget to close my mouth when I chew." She said as they walked around the corner and to Temperance's room. When he walked inside, the door nearly smacked her in the face as she tried to open it from the inside. "Mommy." Antonia smiled.

"Princess." Temperance said, the look of pain on her face turned to a brilliant smile when she saw her daughter, and Booth standing in the doorway.

"Where do you think you're going?" Booth asked, watching Temperance attempt to shoulder the bag. She was dressed and ready to go, she looked withdrawn and in pain, but Booth was the one that knew that, for everyone else, she was very good at hiding it. "You need a wheelchair, and discharge papers, and…"

"I already signed the discharge papers I saw Gracie this morning, and had them bring them to me." She said, groaning when Booth pulled the bag from her. "I can carry that." She whined.

"You're not carrying anything." Booth replied, stepping into the room. "You have everything?" he asked, looking up, he could see the lost look in her eyes, her lip trembled. "Bones?"

"I don't want to go home." She whimpered, looking to him with tears in her eyes, she tried to hold them back, but she couldn't.

"No, no… no no…" Antonia whimpered. "No, Mommy, don't cry…" She said as she started to whimper.

"No, no… neither of you… neither of you cry, please…" Booth said as he tried to wrap his arm around Temperance, and hold Antonia.

"I don't want to leave my baby…" Temperance whimpered into his shoulder. "I don't want to leave her for weeks... I want to stay here." She said as he held her tightly.

"I know, baby." He whispered. "But we can come back and see her anytime you want to. She has to get stronger, gain some weight... she is doing great."

"Mama, don't cry… please… please don't cry." Antonia sobbed into her mother as Booth held both of them, aware of the door opening and a nurse stepping in with a wheelchair. He gave the nurse a desperate look, and she smiled politely at him as he held both of them tightly in his arms.

"It's okay, baby… it's okay." Booth said, feeling Temperance's tears begin to slow as he just held her, and Antonia rested against his arm, sniffling as she sucked on her thumb and cuddled into Booth. "Look… look, the nurse brought your ride out and everything." Booth said as he turned Temperance to see the wheelchair. "Cool wheels…" He said with his best charm smile.

"I don't want to…" She sniffed. "I'm not a weakling."

"No, but I can't carry both you, and Antonia out of here, so you're going to have to opt for the wheelchair." Booth said, and smiled sweetly when she glared up at him, pushing out of the hug. Her pout was enough to almost break his heart as she begrudgingly moved toward the wheelchair. He held Antonia with one arm as he reached out to help her, looking to the nurse with a polite smile. "Can you please take her to see the baby before we go? It'll give me some time to get a few things settled in the car, and I'll call up to NICU when she can be brought down."

Temperance watched the exchange and wanted to argue with him, tell him that he was being bossy and that if she wanted to make that decision, she would have made that decision on her own. He could see the stubborn look in her eyes and crouched down to her. "Hey, are you going to be okay?" He asked softly, trying very hard not to cause another emotional crying moment.

"I'm fine." She whispered.

"Does my idea sound good to you? You can go see Gracie while I get your things, and Antonia in the car." He watched the gratefulness in her eyes that she was being included in the decision, and nodded her head. "Just enjoy the wheelchair ride, Bones… it's not every day that you're waited on hand and foot."

"Toni?" Temperance whispered, getting her little girl's attention, her tiny thumb was planted firmly in her mouth, and her brown eyes met her mommy's. "I love you, baby. Mommy is okay, alright? I promise." She whispered. "I just… I…"

"Mommy is so excited about coming home." Booth said softly. "She just doesn't want baby Gracie to miss out on all of the fun."

Antonia looked to her father, and then to her mother, and popped her thumb out of her mouth. "I don't want her to miss out on the fun either." She turned to Booth, and raised an eyebrow. "What fun?"

"Alright." Booth said, ignoring the little girl's question for a moment, he leaned down and kissed Temperance's head. "Tell Gracie that we said hi, and we love her, and that daddy is going to visit her again really soon." Booth whispered, watching Temperance nod as the nurse pulled the wheelchair backwards.

"I love you, Mommy!" Antonia waved as she smiled brightly as Temperance disappeared from the room with the nurse. As soon as the door closed behind them, she turned to Booth. "What fun?" She asked again, her look was skeptical at best, and he shook his head.

"Let's get your mommy's stuff to the car…" He said, shouldering the bag that Temperance had her things packed away in, he opened the door and walked with Antonia down the hallway.

"Daddy, you are ignoring me on purpose."

"I'm not ignoring you…" He said, kissing her cheek, she promptly lifted her hand and wiped it off, giving him a glare. "Hey, you wiped off my kiss!"

"Because you are being belig…bled-dren…"

"Belligerent? You're trying to say belligerent? You need to stop having mommy read you the thesaurus before bedtime." He shook his head and stepped into the elevator. As soon as the elevator door closed, the little girl let out a squeak that, if Booth were correct, could have shattered his eardrum.

"Daddy! I have an idea!" She exclaimed excitedly, noting the look of pain on Booth's face, she gritted her teeth and winced. "Sorry I yellied in your ear."

"See that, you're the master of deception… you do something I should be angry about, and then you use a word like 'yellied'…" He rolled his eyes as he pressed the button for the lobby. "What's your idea, pumpkin?"

"I want to give Deuce to Gracie." She said honestly, watching Booth's eyebrow lift.

"You want to give Deuce to Gracie?" Booth repeated his question, and watched the numbers on the elevator before glancing back at his daughter. "Why is that?"

"Cuz she's all alone here when mommy isn't here. If she has Deuce, then she won't be alone, and mommy will know that she's safe."

"I thought you couldn't sleep without Deuce?" He asked, giving her a scrutinizing look as the doors opened into the lobby, and he stepped off the elevator. He reached his hand for the little gray elephant and tugged it from her grip. Stepping toward one of the seats in the lobby, he sat down and settled Antonia on his lap. He slouched a bit, and the little girl watched Booth look over the toy carefully.

"I can't sleep if mommy is sad, daddy."

"Tell me about it." He said, his eyes still on the little elephant. He looked to his little girl, her eyes were following his fingers over the incredibly worn fur of the toy. He had spots of dirt, spots of missing fur, not to mention having been sewn on numerous occasions after many different traumas. It was most definitely not a gift for a newborn, but Booth knew the significance, he knew what Antonia was thinking, and he was feeling a sense of such pride for his little girl. "I thought Deuce was your best friend."

"He can still be my best friend and be Gracie's friend too." She whispered, her voice was a bit smaller and it was almost as if she were starting to change her mind. "Daddy, please? I don't want Gracie to be all alone."

"I have an idea too." He said, eying the little girl carefully, he watched her eyebrows lift in serious curiosity, much like Temperance did when he talked of his expertise in a case. Her complete attention was on him, and it took a bit for him not to forget what he was about to say. "What if we… go to the gift store here in the hospital? We can pick her out a new toy… one that can be her very own, just like Deuce is your very own… and that toy can watch over her." He asked, watching her think about it for a moment.

"I don't know, Daddy. Deuce is much more better… he's done this before." She nodded seriously.

"Maybe Deuce could stick around for the first day or two… show him the ropes…?"

"I don't know what that means…" She furrowed her brow.

"Show him around… show him how to be a good friend. How does that sound… so in a couple of days, we can come back and get Deuce, and Gracie will have her new toy… and then poof… nobody will be alone…"

"Poof!" Antonia said with a grin as she slipped off Booth's lap and started to run in the opposite direction.

"Hey! Where are you going?" He called as he laughed, standing up to follow the little girl.

"Poof! We're going to get Gracie a new friend!" She giggled excitedly as she ran off toward the gift shop, with Booth close behind.


	17. Teamwork

The nurses had just placed Grace back in her crib when the door to the visiting room opened. A tall male nurse walked inside and approached the nurse placing the baby in the crib, which nodded and smiled at the other nurse, her eyes moving to Temperance for a moment before she nodded her head, the male nurse then left the room. "Is something wrong?" Temperance asked, looking to the nurse as their eyes met. There was concern in her eyes, and her hands were trembling a bit, but mostly because she still wasn't prepared to leave just yet.

The nurse smiled and looked down at the baby and back to Temperance. "Nope, everything is just fine." She said softly. Their attention then went to the door as it opened again, and Temperance was sure that her face showed all of the shock it possibly could when Booth came walking in, their daughter in his arms wearing a gown over her clothes and a surgical mask over her face. "Booth, what are you doing here?" She whispered.

"They said we could come see the baby." Booth said, watching Temperance's eyes lighten considerably, she watched Antonia's attention go directly to the incubator crib. "We're going to take a look." He said, reaching his hand for Temperance, she grasped it and let him help her from the wheelchair. He held her arm and then wrapped his arm around his waist, pulling her to him as they settled beside the incubator.

Antonia's eyes were bright and wide with wonder, her one hand holding Booth tightly until they reached the baby, the other grasping a paper bag against his chest, and her eyes widened even further when they finally peeked into the crib at the baby. "Daddy, she is so tiny." Antonia whispered.

"I told you that she was little." Booth whispered, feeling Temperance's grip on him a bit tighter, she leaned her head against him as he kissed the top of her head.

"When do I get to hold her?" Antonia whispered.

"Maybe around her due date…" Booth whispered. "She still has to get a little bit stronger, baby."

"Do you remember when I was tiny, mama?" Antonia asked, tearing her eyes from the baby for a moment to look to Temperance, who met her daughter's eyes with a smile.

"I remember everything about you." She replied, watching those little brown eyes smile back at her as she looked down at her sister.

"Hey Gracie… I am Toni, Antonia… I'm your big sister." Antonia whispered. She was entranced by the tiny baby in the crib, the tubes and wires, tape and lights not a bother in the least, since she had seen pictures that Booth had showed her. This though, this was real, and the baby was moving and breathing, and she was simply amazed by the tiny baby sleeping before them. "Daddy and me brought you a present." She said, holding tightly to the paper bag, Temperance and Booth exchanged a look and he smiled as the little girl continued. "I told daddy that I didn't want you to be all alone here… so we got you a little toy mouse." She said, reaching into the bag, she pulled out a small stuffed white mouse. He had a cute little pink nose and whiskers. "Daddy said I should get you a mouse cuz you are gonna have to get used to mice cuz you're gonna hang out with a lot of lab rats when you grow up… now I don't know what that means… I've never seen rats or mice at the lab, but daddy is usually right." She explained, holding the toy in the air. "Since you're too little to see him, he's white and warm and fuzzy and cute…" She shrugged. "This is Deuce." She said, holding up her toy elephant. "He's mine, but I'm gonna let you borrow him for a day or two so he can show Squeaker here the ropes." She said definitively.

"Sweetie, I don't…" Temperance started to say, catching Booth's eyes, he shook his head at her, and she stopped. There was obviously something she was missing, something that he probably was waiting for some privacy before discussing, so she paused and caught her daughter's eye as she held the two toys up. "I think that was such a sweet thing for you to do for your baby sister, Antonia."

"I don't want her to be alone, mommy." Antonia replied. "I don't want you to feel sad." She said, reaching her hand out for her mother, Temperance accepted it and held it tightly, watching her brown eyes glitter against the light of the room. "I love you very much, mommy."

"I love you, baby." She said, reaching for the little girl, Booth gave her a glance of warning, but her response was a glare that told him that she would be just fine. Booth took the two stuffed animals from the little girl and watched Temperance closely for any signs of discomfort as he handed Antonia over. He saw her wince, and nearly stopped the transition, when Temperance gave him a look of desperation.

"I love you, mama." Antonia whispered, holding her mother tightly as she was gently rocked. Booth watched the two of them, his hands holding the toys very tenderly as he then turned and looked down at the baby, his thumb rhythmically moving over the fur of the small white mouse.

"I'm sorry." He whispered, his head turning to face Temperance, who looked surprised by his words. "I'm sorry that I wasn't here for this the first time."

"You didn't know. There was no way for you to know, Booth. It is in the past. You were hurt, you couldn't have known. Everything is alright now, there's no reason for you to apologize."

"I still feel guilty."

"You were here for this, Booth." She replied. "After all that we've been through, after all that we've survived… you were here for this moment, and you'll never forget that."

Antonia turned her head and leaned against her mother's shoulder, her thumb finding its way to her mouth, she watched her father as she clung to her mother. Booth reached forward and ran his index finger over her soft cheek as she smiled with her thumb in her mouth, letting out a tiny giggle. Temperance watched his loving gaze as he brought his eyes to hers. "We make a good team, don't we?" He whispered.

"We always have." She whispered, and just like that, his arm was around her again, pulling them both close to him, kissing her head, as they watched the baby sleep, gently soothed by the sounds of the machines, and their closeness, as they both tried to work up the bravery to leave the tiniest of them at the hospital, a feat that none of them knew they couldn't accomplish if they didn't have the other to hold them through it.

"We always will."


	18. Bedtime Secrets

It had been a little over a week since Temperance had arrived home, and despite the sadness with leaving her baby at the hospital, she was very quickly moving back into her typical routine and set ways. Lying in bed, she turned the page on the book she was reading and looked up when the door opened. Her eyes lit up in a smile as Booth entered the room, and he stepped forward and gave her a tender smile as he got ready for bed. "What are you smiling about?" He asked, watching her suspiciously for a moment.

"Nothing." She shrugged. "Though it does appear that you are up to something."

"Oh really?" He asked, pulling the covers, he climbed into the bed and sat down, pulling the blankets up to cover himself, he avoided eye contact for a second.

"Yes."

"And what evidence do you have of this?" He asked with raised eyebrow, and a boyish look that never failed to make her shake her head and smile.

"Well, it took you considerably longer to put Antonia to bed this evening."

"She had some questions." He replied.

"What kind of questions?"

"Nothing to worry about." He said, leaning back on his pillow, he rolled onto his side, facing away from her.

"Booth, if she has questions about something important…"

"They weren't questions for you." Booth interrupted with a slight chuckle, turning his head to face her, she narrowed her eyes and narrowed them further when he chuckled at her expression. "You really don't like being out of the loop, do you?" He said, rolling back to his side to face away from her.

"No." She leaned over him and stared at the side of his face. She could see the small smile on his face, and knew he was very clearly up to something. "You're being sneaky."

"No I'm not… I'm trying to get some sleep… you probably should too if you want to get to the hospital early tomorrow."

He felt her eyes on the side of his face for another moment before she made an irritated huff sound and rolled over onto her back. He couldn't help but smile to himself as he felt her roll over and pull the blankets with her a bit, tugging on them a bit harder. "Bones, don't get so upset…"

"I'm not upset." She said, pulling the blanket a bit harder. "I'm cold."

"Aw, you're not cold, baby…" He said, rolling over onto his back, kept rolling and wrapped his arm around her and tucked his chin into the crook of her neck. "You have me…"

"You're keeping secrets from me."

"No…"

"Secrets that involve our daughter…"

"Bones." Booth whispered into her ear in response to her pout. "It's in your best interest… trust me."

Temperance turned her head and looked into his eyes. "My best interest? Really? Do you think I am going to believe that?"

"You don't have to believe it… but you could drop it." He teased. They were suddenly interrupted by a timid knock at the door. Booth turned his head and looked up at the closed door. "Yes?" He called out, watching the doorknob turn slightly, the door pushed open, and Antonia peeked inside slowly.

"Hi."

"Hi." Booth said, watching her stand awkwardly at the door.

"Antonia?" Temperance said, sitting up slightly. "Are you okay?"

"Uh huh." She nodded. "Daddy, I have another question." She whispered.

"Another one?" Booth asked. "I thought we already decided."

"We did, but I got another one." She said, hopping eagerly a bit as Booth sat up in the bed.

"Sweetheart, you can ask mommy your question too, you know." Temperance said as she watched her daughter shake her head.

"No, Mommy… just daddy… come on, daddy…" She said, waving her hand at him, she smiled when Booth started to climb from the bed. Booth walked toward her and took her hand in his as he glanced back to Temperance apologetically.

"I'll be right back." He whispered to Temperance, watching her scowl as he tipped his head. "Trust me." He walked out the door with Antonia, closing the door behind him.

He walked down the hallway with Antonia, her hand slipping through his as soon as they were in the hallway. "Come on, Daddy… my room so mommy doesn't listen." She said, watching as Booth nodded. He followed her down the hallway to her bedroom and walked inside, following her toward the bed, where she jumped into it and covered herself up quickly.

"Your mommy is becoming quite suspicious… she knows we're up to something." Booth said softly.

"Don't tell her, kay?"

"I'm not going to tell her." He said, crouching by the bed. "So what is this big question you have to ask me, that couldn't wait till morning?"

"I want to go over the plan again…" She smiled.

"You're supposed to be sleeping… that was step one in the plan." Booth teased.

"Daddy…" She replied, eyeing him carefully.

"Okay… Daddy will wake you up in the morning… if you ever get to bed…" He mumbled, smiling at her stern glare. "And you can help me make breakfast for mommy… we will give her the card we got her for Mother's day, and then we'll go see Gracie…"

"And then we give her the card that we got for Gracie, right?"

"Right…"

"Then we come home, right?"

"Yep…"

"And have pie, right? And mommy will have cake… and we'll give her the balloons and flowers."

"See… you already know all of this, why did you need to go over it again?"

"I like to have a plan." She replied indignantly. She then sighed. "Daddy, I really think we should bring Gracie home tomorrow. She told me she's lonely."

"She told you."

"Mmhmm…" The little girl nodded. "I miss her."

Booth reached forward and tucked a loose strand of hair behind his daughter's ear. Her eyes were so honest and true, her sigh so sad. "I miss her too, baby…" He said honestly. "She'll be home soon."

"When?"

"Toni…" Booth said, knowing that they had this conversation on multiple occasions and it never, ever ended well. He leaned forward and kissed her nose. "Get some sleep."

"You never answer."

"Because we can't see into the future, silly girl… and if you have a problem with that answer… you better take it up with mommy...I know for a fact that she has tons of squinty reasons. Now get some sleep so we can go see Gracie in the morning."

"I love you, Daddy." She said with a resigned sigh.

"I love you, princess…" He said as he kissed her one more time and stood up, ensuring that she was tucked in. He took a step backwards toward the door, waving at her as he stepped out of the room, she clutched Deuce tightly and smiled at her father as he closed the door behind him. He was just latching the door when he felt the hand on his back and jumped with a yelp. He turned toward the very amused expression of Temperance as she couldn't help but let out a laugh. "You scared the crap out of me, Bones."

"Serves you right." She said with a smile, crossing her arms over her chest, she raised her eyebrows at him. "Are you going to tell me what you two are up to?"

"We are up to no good, Bones." He said, putting his arm around her shoulder, he kissed her cheek as she shook her head and walked with him toward their bedroom. "You should really know by now that when it comes to Antonia and me… we're always up to no good."


	19. Smugglers Blues

Temperance rolled over, expecting to push herself into the lump that was typically her bed partner, but found that the other side of her bed was empty, empty and cold. She sat up quickly with a gasp, her dreaming mind still working in overdrive as she practically leapt from her bed. She moved quickly toward the door and opened it, her foggy mind taking in that this wasn't her apartment, she wasn't alone. This was her home, and the scent that had belonged to the man that she had dreamed every night for years to come back, was real, and when she opened the door and heard her daughter's infectious giggle echoing up the stairs into her ears, she was finally able to release her held breath.

She felt ridiculous for still having these thoughts, and knew that she couldn't tell Booth of them, it wouldn't solve anything. So she waited a moment as she listened to Booth and Antonia downstairs, and smiled when she heard their voices coming down the hallway.

"So how do we do this, Daddy?" She asked, her small feet padding toward the stairs quickly.

"Well, she's sleeping, so you have to go in really quietly and give her a kiss on her nose to wake her up."

"People don't kiss on the nose, Daddy."

"And since when are you so well versed in how people kiss? You're just a little girl… have you been going around kissing people I don't know about?" Booth asked playfully, a light clinking sound coming up the stairs slowly.

"No, Daddy. I'm still a little girl… I just didn't know." She said innocently with a giggle.

Temperance quickly closed the door lightly and moved toward her bed, listening to the sound of their feet as they walked up the steps talking, she climbed under the covers and lay her head on the pillow, closing her eyes she waited until she heard the door opening slowly, and gentle whispers.

"So what do I do?" Antonia asked.

"Go give mommy a kiss." Booth whispered back.

"Do I say it now?"

"You can."

Temperance felt the bed moving a little as the little girl scrambled across it on her hands and knees. It was only a moment, and she felt a very soft peck on her nose. "Mommy?" The little girl whispered, waiting for her mother's eyes to flutter open. "Mommy, it's me, Toni. Time to wake up."

Temperance opened her eyes, and watched her daughter's eyes light up with her brightest smile at her lips. "Hey little one…"

"Happy Mother's day!" She said excitedly, throwing her arms into the air, she watched Temperance smile brightly at her.

"Mother's day?" Temperance asked, looking to Booth who was standing at the door holding a tray with pancakes and coffee.

"Yes." Booth said as he took a step toward the bed with the tray. He stepped toward the bed as she turned around and sat up, watching his eyes as he set the tray on her lap. "A day invented to show mothers how much we appreciate them." He replied, dropping a kiss on her cheek.

"We got you a card too." Antonia snapped. "And a bunch of flowers…"

"Toni…" Booth whispered, trying to get her attention.

"And then we're gonna go get Parker, then go see Gracie, then…"

"Toni." Booth said again, getting the little girl's attention.

"Huh?"

"How is any of this going to be a surprise if you keep running your gab trap?" He asked, with a grin as her hand slapped over her mouth and she mumbled a giggling apology. "Much better." He winked as he sat down on the bed beside Temperance and gathered the little girl into his arms. "You've never celebrated Mother's day." Booth said as he raised an eyebrow and tipped his head as she sipped at her coffee and looked to him.

"No." She replied. "How do you know?"

"Because Antonia didn't even know it existed."

"Well, Booth… if the intention of Mother's day is to honor one's mother… I'm sure that Antonia had no prior knowledge of that fact since I was a single mother, and she still hasn't managed to keep her calendar very organized with all of the other childhood events that she has on her schedule." She replied with a bit of humored sarcasm, she cut one of her pancakes with the fork and brought it to her lips, tasting the fluffy goodness, she made a sound of satisfaction.

"Good, huh?"

"Delicious." She smiled at the little girl as the two onlookers continued to watch her eat. "Are you two going to keep staring at me, or do you have other devious plans for today?" She asked.

"We're going to keep staring." Antonia shrugged, watching Temperance smile and shake her head.

"So this is what you two were planning last night?" She asked before taking another bite.

"Yes." The little girl nodded. "And other stuff." She looked to Booth, who raised his finger to his lips, and watched Antonia nod and put her finger on her lips as she watched him and turned her head toward her mother. "Can't tell you though."

Temperance smiled and continued her breakfast, her eyes settling on the tray before her as she sat in thought. Booth watched her slip into her thought filled mode and wanted to pull her back, though he wasn't exactly sure how he should approach it, he waited for a moment and she finally snapped back. "You know… last year around this time." She said, looking up at Booth. "It must have been Mother's day, but I'm unsure of the date… someone left a daisy on the handle of the apartment door." She watched Booth's tender smile and felt her eyes begin to fill slightly. "You?"

"Who else?"

"I thought it was my father… just… trying to brighten my day."

"Nope… it was me…" Booth whispered, cuddling the little girl in his arms a little closer, he watched Temperance as she swiped the tear in her eye. "Every year, Bones… every year, from now on… anything you want on this day, and any other day." He smiled. "I love you."

"I love you." She said, leaning toward him, he captured her lips with his, and smiled as she sat back, watching the smile on his lips. "What?"

Booth licked his lips and grinned. "Syrupy." He chuckled, sitting back on his pillow he tickled the little girl in his arms and both fell back laughing as Temperance finished her breakfast and watched them, reveling in the true happiness that had entered her life.

* * *

After breakfast and cleaning up, and getting dressed, they were on their way to pick up Parker at Rebecca's place. They pulled up to the house and Parker came running from the house toward the car, a bag in his hand as he swung open the door to the SUV.

"Hey, Dad! Hey Bones! Hey, Toni!" He said as he jumped into the car and grinned.

"Someone is certainly in a good mood today." Booth said, glancing to Temperance as he waved to Rebecca's exasperated look as she waved back at him, knowing that Booth would be dropping him back off after the trip to see the baby. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were running away from something."

"Huh?" Parker said as he buckled himself in, smiling as he thrust the bag in his hand forward toward Temperance. "Here, Bones… this is for you. Happy Mother's day." He said with a smile, watching Temperance's grin brighten as she took the bag from the boy.

"Parker, you didn't have to get me anything…"

"Oh yeah I did." He replied quickly.

"Open it up, Mommy!" Antonia squeaked from her seat as Temperance thanked Parker and glanced to Booth, who was smiling as he drove them all toward the hospital.

"I can't believe you made him get me something for Mother's day."

"Dad had nothing to do with it, Bones… it was all my idea." Parker insisted.

"See, all his idea." Booth insisted, glancing back at the bouncing girl in the back seat. "You better open it before Toni spontaneously combusts back there."

"Open it, Bones!" Parker said, watching Temperance carefully pull the box from inside the small gift bag. "I picked it out myself." He said proudly.

She slowly opened the box, and her eyes widened when she pulled out the necklace with a large jade pendant dangling from it. "Parker, it's beautiful." She said, holding it up to show Booth. "Thank you so much." She smiled at the boy in the back seat who was beaming proudly.

"I hope you like it."

"I love it."

"Mommy, let me see, let me see!" Antonia squeaked, gasping when Temperance showed it to her. "You should put it on, Mommy."

"I think I just might." Temperance said as she unclasped the necklace slowly and put it around her neck, clasping it in the back. "How does it look?" She asked, looking to Booth, watching him glance at it around her neck, he smiled.

"Perfect." He smiled.

"You're a great Mom, Bones… even if you're not my real one… you're a great mom."

"Thank you, Parker." She said, smiling back at the boy's widening grin. "You're a fantastic son…" She said, reaching her hand back to him, he grabbed hers tightly and she could see the sincerity in his eyes, reflecting just as his father's always did. "I missed you."

"I missed you too, Bones… don't cry… it's your day." He smiled.

"I can't help it." She replied. "I am a very, very lucky woman." She said, squeezing Parker's hand one more time. "I love you, Parker… thank you again."

"It's no problem, Bones." He said, releasing her hand, he smiled the rest of the way to the hospital, as he excitedly anticipated finally seeing his new baby sister.

* * *

The four of them walked down the hallway of the maternity ward, Antonia in Booth's arms as Parker walked along ahead of them, looking around eagerly as they made their way to the desk outside the NICU. They had called ahead and made plans for a room of their own, and though the children couldn't hold the baby, there was still a sense of excitement in the air that they'd be able to see her.

A nurse led them into a room, gave Booth masks and gowns for the two kids to wear, and while they waited for Grace to be brought to the private room, Antonia sat eagerly on Booth's lap and they talked a bit, though the moment the door opened and the incubator was brought in, all eyes were on the tiny pink form that was lying within it.

"That's Gracie." Antonia said to Parker, who gave Antonia an irritated look.

"Duh." Parker replied, catching his father's eye, he turned on the charm smile and shrugged, turning it into a sheepish grin. "Sorry." He said, standing up to peek into the incubator. "She's so little, Dad." Parker whispered.

"Yep… but she's growing… she's getting bigger and bigger each day." Booth said, as the nurse helped Temperance lift her from the incubator.

"Gracie says Happy Mother's day, Mommy." Antonia said happily.

"She does?" Temperance asked her daughter, ensuring that she held eye contact with the wiggling almost four year old.

"Yep."

"When do we get to hold her?" Parker asked, lifting his eyebrows when she let out a squeaking cry, his eyes flicked to his father.

"A couple more weeks… she's still pretty tiny for anyone but Bones or I to hold her."

"She's kind of cute." Parker said with a smile, he backed up and sat down on the chair beside Booth. His excitement had waned a bit, but he was still happy to be with his family. He leaned forward toward Temperance and the baby. "Hey Gracie… I'm your big brother, Parker…" He whispered as he sat up. "Like she understands me." He shook his head.

"She understands." Temperance replied. "It's all in your tone of voice, inflection… she may not know what your words mean, but she can tell that you are a friendly person, that you care about her."

"Daddy?" Antonia said, looking to her father as she settled back in his arms.

"Yes?"

"I think mommy should put Gracie in her purse and sneak her out of here." Antonia said seriously. "She'd fit in mommy's purse."

"What?" Booth asked, hearing the laughter from Temperance and Parker, as Booth tried to field the question on the fly, without thinking.

"For one thing, your baby sister is not a tissue or a piece of gum… why would you think we could smuggle her out in your mother's purse?"

"It was just an idea, Daddy. No reason to get all snapping turtleish…" She shrugged, turning her attention from Booth and back to her sister, as Temperance and Booth shrugged and shook their heads, and the growing family enjoyed their precious time together.


	20. Delegating

_May 29th_

Temperance stood in the kitchen carefully putting the top piece of bread on the turkey sandwich she was making as she heard a loud slam from upstairs, followed by the colorful 'booboo' language that echoed down the hallway from upstairs. She furrowed her brow as she stepped through the door of the kitchen, only to hear another loud thud and another barrage of words that shouldn't be repeated in front of children or elderly people. "Are you alright?" She called, stepping toward the stairs, she walked slowly up the steps. "Booth?"

"I'm fine." He grunted, yelping in pain as she heard something slam into the floor again just as she neared the room he was in. She slowly opened the door and looked around the corner, only to find him in the middle of the room surrounded by various pieces of the crib that he had begun attempting to assemble nearly an hour earlier.

"Are you sure?" She asked, her eyebrows raised as she watched his glare focus on her.

"I'm fine, Bones…"

"You don't look fine. You look like you are very, very… not fine."

"You won't help me with this?"

"Booth, you said you wanted to do it yourself." She smiled just a bit, and he could see his eyes narrowing as he shifted on the floor.

"You said you wouldn't help me with it." He said, starting to stand up. "You said that I should put the crib together because you had to do it all by yourself when you were pregnant with Antonia. You said it was easy…"

"Well, I do have three advanced degrees." She replied, handing over the plate with the sandwich. "Lunch time." She smiled, tipping her head, he gave her a playful glare as the doorbell rang. "That's probably Angela and Hodgins with Antonia."

"I was supposed to have this finished…"

"Well, perhaps Hodgins can help you." She said, watching as his eyebrows lifted as he took a bite from the sandwich. "He has three advanced degrees as well." She smiled as she turned to walk out of the room.

"Hey! I don't need Hodgins help to do this, you know! I can do this by myself!" He exclaimed, hearing her gentle laughter as she walked down the stairs. He turned and grumbled as he sat back on the floor, setting the sandwich down beside him, he stared at the instructions. "It'd help if these instructions weren't in Korean…"

It didn't take but a minute before he heard the pounding of two small feet as they came flying up the stairs and barreling toward the room he was in. The door swung open and there was Antonia, grinning brightly and breathless, her cheeks pink with color and her eyes bright with excitement. "Daddy!" She said with a grin.

"Hey, little one… did you have fun with Aunt Ange and Uncle Bugs?"

"YES!" She said, hopping up and down, she practically tackled him in a hug and settled in his lap. "I helped with JV… I think I'm ready for Gracie to come home. I'm going to be the best babysitter ever!"

"Really? The best ever?" Booth asked.

"Uh huh." She said, looking at the crib parts all around the room, her eyebrows shot up as she turned to look at her daddy. "Daddy, you made a real mess in here."

"Thank you, Miss Obvious."

"I don't know what that means." She said, watching Booth stare at the instructions for a moment, he held her as she turned her head just as the door to the bedroom opened and Temperance walked in, followed by Angela and Hodgins.

"Oh great… invite everyone in here to see the mess I've made… so you guys can all laugh at me and…"

"Daddy can't figure out how to put the baby cage together."

"It's a crib, sweetie, not a baby cage." Angela laughed.

"It has bars like a cage… the baby can't get out… call it what you want… it's a baby cage." She said, standing up, she kissed Booth's cheek and patted his shoulder. "Good luck." She said as she turned and ran out of the room for her own bedroom.

"Haven't figured it out, huh?" Hodgins asked innocently, becoming the victim of a glare from Booth, he took a step back. "It's alright man… I can help… it wouldn't be my first crib I've put together." He said, looking around the room, Booth noticed that Temperance and Angela were trying to make their out of the room without being obvious about it.

"Right… you put together JV's crib…" Booth nodded as the two women slipped out of the room.

"Right." Hodgins nodded. "And Antonia's…"

"Excuse me?" Booth asked.

"Antonia's… yeah… When she was pregnant, Doctor B gave me the keys to her apartment one day and asked me to…"

"Excuse me…" Booth said as he started to stand up.

"What?"

"I have to go talk to someone about something." He said as he started to walk out of the room, he got to the doorway just as Temperance and Angela made it to the bottom of the stairs. "Bones!"

"Yes, sweetheart?" She asked, giving him a saccharine sweet smile that made it quite obvious that she was on the verge of laughing out loud.

"You think you're so clever…"

"I don't know what you mean." She said with a smile. "I love you."

He narrowed his eyes and tried not to smile back at her, but was not successful, his head shaking as he just chuckled. "Yeah, yeah… I love you." He said, disappearing back into the baby's nursery amidst the giggles of the two women downstairs. He stepped back into the nursery and closed the door behind him, watching Hodgins sit on the floor eating his sandwich while looking at the instructions. "Hodgins?"

"Hm?" He asked, mid chew as he looked up at Booth.

"That's my sandwich."

"Don't worry, I ate around the part that you bit into…" He said, holding it up to show him.

Booth's jaw tightened and he turned, walking out of the room, he slammed the door behind him and walked down toward his room, stopping as he passed Antonia's room and noticed that she was sitting at her little desk, a crayon in her hand, she looked like she was concentrating very hard on the paper in front of her. He watched her for several moments, and when she looked up, he smiled at her small wave. "Hi, daddy."

"Hey, baby." He said, stepping into the room. "What are you up to?"

"Um…"

"What are you drawing?"

"Oh." She smiled. "Just drawing pictures for baby Gracie." She said, holding up a picture she had just colored. "I don't know what colors to use. I don't know what her favorite color is."

Booth smiled at her innocence, and her serious tone, stepping over toward her, he crouched beside her chair. "I think she'll like anything you color for her."

"But I don't even know if she's going to like me." She sighed, coloring the picture. "She doesn't even know me… what if I'm not a good big sister? I want her to come home soon."

"I know, baby… and that's what we're getting ready for, right? That's why I'm putting her bed together, and you're coloring her pictures for her bedroom… You're going to be a great big sister."

Antonia turned and gave her father her best skeptical look. "You don't know that, daddy."

"I know that you're a very nice little girl." He said, reaching his hand up to tuck her hair behind her ear, she watched him sadly. "I know that you want to be a good big sister, and I know that you're going to do your very best."

"Sometimes your best just isn't good enough, Daddy." She shook her head.

"Who tells you these things?" He asked with a laugh, lifting her from the chair, she wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him as he kissed her head. She seemed genuinely concerned about the situation, and he was desperately trying to think of a way to quell her worries. "You think too much… just like your mama…" He whispered. "I have an idea…"

"What?" She asked, looking up as he walked over to her tiny pink chair at her little desk. He reached across the desk and pulled out a blank sheet of white paper. He sat in the ridiculously small chair and let Antonia sit on his lap, as he took a crayon in his hand.

"Why don't we write a list… of all of the things we want Gracie to know before she gets here… you know, so she's not out of the loop. She'll know you, and then as she gets older, you can learn things about her."

"Like what?" She asked, watching her father's hand as he tapped it on the piece of paper.

"We can start with your favorite color."

"Is stripes a color?"

"Huh?"

"Like your socks, daddy. I like stripes…"

"Why don't we start with something easier…." He replied.

"Um… okay… tell her that… I like to collect rocks." She said, reaching into her pocket, she pulled out a stone and showed it to her father.

"Why do you have a rock in your pocket?"

"Uncle Bugs said…"

"Nevermind." He shook his head with a laugh. "You don't have to say anything else." He said with a laugh as she put the rock on the desk beside the piece of paper, and he wrote down on the paper what she had said. "What else?"

"Um… tell her that daddy tells the best stories." She said with a grin, watching his handwriting on the paper.

"But if you like singing, mommy is much better at it." A voice said from the hallway as both of them turned to see Temperance standing in the hallway, leaning against the door. "Did you hand your work over to Hodgins?"

"I'm delegating." Booth replied. "Don't worry… he's been fed." He said, watching Angela appear around the corner holding JV. "Why don't you two take over here…" He said, nodding toward the paper. He lifted Antonia from his lap and deposited her on the chair. He looked up at her surprised expression. "What? You can delegate… I can delegate." He walked toward Angela and carefully pulled the baby from her arms and cradled him softly, bouncing him a bit as the two women watched him. "JV and I are going to go bond over the afternoon Phillies game." He said, stepping past the two women, he dropped a kiss on Temperance's cheek, as he took the sleeping baby with him downstairs, a self satisfied smirk firmly on his lips.


	21. Homecoming

_June 8th_

The day that Grace was finally able to come home from the hospital was like a holiday. There were gifts and guests and happy smiles all around. The living room was filled with balloons, people, food and laughter as everyone gathered to celebrate the little one's arrival home.

Booth sat content and happy with the guest of honor in his arms, his pinky finger firmly planted in her hand as he watched her eyes open and take a peek at her daddy. She was still quite small, a tiny little thing that had stolen the heart of everyone in the room. He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see Angela looking down at him.

"You know you're going to have to let someone else hold her, Booth."

"I don't have to let anyone do anything." He said in a soft voice, looking down at the little girl, she let out a bubbling raspberry and looked up at him. "Do I, sweetheart? Daddy is going to hold you forever and ever…"

"That would be quite a problem when she has her first boyfriend… to have her daddy holding her…"

"Oh, she'll never have a boyfriend, not till she's thirty or forty years old… nope… will you, my precious little… Hey…" He said as a set of arms reached over him and lifted the tiny bundle from his arms. "We were having a conversation here."

"You've been talking for over an hour…" Temperance said, dropping a kiss on his cheek as she leaned over his pouting face. "It's time to give other people a chance to hold her."

"Don't worry man, we'll give her back when it's time for her diaper change." Hodgins said with a pat to Booth's shoulder, laughing at Booth's faux laugh and glare as he watched Antonia from the corner of the room, staring at him. He looked up when Max walked by, patting his shoulder, and when he looked back to where Antonia had been, she had disappeared.

He got up slowly, excusing himself from the crowd, and climbing over toys and other objects that were on the floor, he took a glance back to the crowd. Sweets and Daisy had brought Brendan, Cam and her husband were there with Michelle, Hodgins and Angela had brought JV, and Russ and Amy with their two children, not to mention Max and Ace, along with Rebecca and Parker. He felt his heart swell with love, though felt a bit sick to his stomach thinking of the members of his own family that weren't present.

It had been a year since he had been rediscovered and brought back into the living world, and when he had seen Pops for the first time several months earlier, the older man had claimed that he knew for a fact that his grandson wasn't dead. Booth had laughed and made a joke about him being psychic, but the older man didn't laugh, telling Booth that he'd know if something had happened, and that never did he give up hope that he would come back. Pops would have been there for the homecoming of Grace, but because of his age, it had become increasingly difficult for him to get around, so it was decided that he would be there for Antonia's birthday party instead, and would have his opportunity to see his newest great grandchild then.

Seeing Temperance's brother and his family made him think of his own brother, and it hurt to know that he had disappeared without so much as a return address. Booth had used his credentials to try to locate him on many occasions since his return, but it had appeared that Jared had fallen completely off the grid. He sighed as he walked into the kitchen after his disappearing daughter and looked around to see that she wasn't in sight. He walked around the island in the kitchen, and spotted her feet sticking out from beneath it, and crouched down to her level as he peeked inside the little alcove. "You're hiding."

"No." Her voice was tiny, nervous. She seemed sad, and it was breaking Booth's heart.

"Then why are you under the counter?"

"I don't know."

"Are you sad?" He asked, settling on the floor, he felt his muscles arguing, but he fought back and won, sitting with his legs crossed in front of her. She pulled her legs up into herself, and hugged her knees.

"No."

"Mad?"

"No."

"Glad?"

"Daddy." She sighed.

"Tell me what's on your mind."

"No."

"Is that your favorite word?"

"No." She pouted, her brow furrowing.

"What's wrong, baby?"

"I'm not your baby."

"Because Gracie is here?"

"No."

"You're going to have to give me more to go on, kid…"

"Gracie is your baby, Parker is your baby… but not me."

"What do you mean? Of course you're my baby." Booth whispered, his brow furrowing now to the ever so sad sound of his daughter's voice.

"Gracie's name is Gracie Keenan Booth."

"Yes."

"I am Antonia Elyse Brennan."

"That's right." Booth said, shaking his head. "What's the problem?"

"We have different last names, Daddy… don't you see? It is a problem." She said huffily as she started to climb out from under the counter, and he reached for her, feeling her pull away from him with a loud squeak. "Let go, Daddy." She grunted angrily.

"No, no way… you're going to talk to me about this." He said, feeling her fingernails push into his skin.

"Stop!" She screamed loudly. "Mommy! Mommy!" She shouted as Booth lifted her into his arms, she stubbornly kicked and screamed at him, tears springing to her eyes as she fought against him. He let her go, and she ran from the room sobbing, just as Temperance walked into the room, her eyes wide with concern.

"What was all of that about?" She asked, seeing the shocked look on Booth's face as he stood up.

"Something that I am going to take care of right now." He said, kissing Temperance tenderly as her eyes met his with a bit of confusion, he rubbed his arm and walked past her. "Don't worry, I have it." He said, walking into the living room to find that the excitement had died down a bit since Antonia had come running through the room, but Booth kept calm and walked past them toward the stairs, and the talking and happiness began to swell once more as he disappeared up toward Antonia's room.

He was met by a closed door, and the sound of shuffling within the room. He turned the doorknob and peeked inside, seeing a mad frenzy of clothes flying about the room. He walked in and found his daughter pulling open drawers to her dresser. "What are you doing?"

"I'm running away." She said, her voice was full of frustration and hurt, and Booth couldn't help but feel guilty for her sadness.

"You're running away?" He asked.

"Yes." She said, crossing her arms over her chest, she dropped her backpack and glared at her father.

"You can't run away."

"Why not?"

"Because you're just a little girl, and little girls can't support themselves." He said, using logic on the little girl, he knew he'd be able to put her thoughts to rest, though he had no idea that she had already thoroughly thought this out.

"I'll move in with Uncle Russ. His last name is Brennan, I can be his little girl."

Her argument startled him for a second, and as she swung her backpack onto the bed, he grabbed it from her. She jumped to try to grab it, glaring when she gave up after a moment. "Your Mommy's last name is Brennan."

"Parker said that when you and mommy are married, her last name will be yours. He said that I would be the only Brennan, and that I won't fit in."

"Parker also told you that you were born in a jar, and that you could grow a hand if you collected fingernails in a cup and watered it."

"I don't know what that means." She exclaimed.

"It means that you can't always believe everything you hear." He said, as he started to unpack her bag.

"What are you doing? I am running away!" She shouted.

"Well, you can't take these clothes if you're running away." Booth argued. "Your mommy bought these clothes for you, and if you're just going to leave, you can't take her things. So you will just have to run away naked!" He exclaimed. Antonia breathed heavily in and out, her face red from anger as she tried to come up with an argument for her father. She gritted her teeth and watched him angrily. He was very clearly at the end of his rope with her , and nothing seemed to be helping. When he was through with putting her clothes back in her drawer, he watched her scowl as he shook his head. "You're my baby girl, and nothing is going to change that… not last names, not running away… nothing. You're mine." He said, watching her breathe heavily with a glare. "And that's whether you like it or not." He replied, tossing her backpack into the corner. "Now get your little butt downstairs and tell everyone you're sorry for your outburst."

"I'm not sorry." She grunted in one last attempt for control, she watched Booth stand a little taller, his eyebrow raised, and she could feel his frustration. "I'm… I'm not…" She watched her daddy walk past her toward the door. He said nothing as he opened the bedroom door and held it open.

"Go on."

"I don't want to." She muttered.

"Go downstairs, Antonia." She stomped her foot and walked toward the door, and just as she reached it, he lifted her into his arms and looked directly into her eyes. "You will always, always… always be my little girl, Antonia. Always. Don't you ever, ever doubt that. I will never give you up, no matter how hard you kick and scream. I love you."

"Love you, daddy." She mumbled, staring at his chin. She suddenly felt bad for making her father so upset. "I'm sorry."

"It's alright." He whispered, kissing her cheek. "I'm up for an argument, if you're up for compromise." He watched her eyebrow lift in confusion. "It means I love who you are, now get downstairs and say you're sorry." He said, kissing her cheek again, he put her to the floor and let her run down the stairs toward their guests, her mood changed considerably, as Booth followed after her, thankful for yet another fire that was put out before it became worse.


	22. Full Of Grace

There was finally silence in the house. The party had wound down, the living room cleaned, and Antonia had been tucked in for the night. Booth sat at the edge of the bed, his hand setting tenderly on the edge of the bassinet as he watched the baby sleeping inside. "She looks cold, do you think she's cold?"

"She's fine, Booth."

"She doesn't have anything covering her hands…" He whispered. "She's moving them, maybe that means she's cold."

"It means she's alive, Booth." Temperance said, looking up from her book, she watched as he reached his hand down and adjust something in the bassinet. "Booth, if you keep moving her around, she's going to wake up."

"She's cold." He whispered.

"I'm cold." She pouted, finally watching his eyes lift to her for once.

"You're cold?"

"Yes… freezing…Come to bed."

"Are you jealous of our daughter?" He asked, a humored look in his eyes.

"Don't be ridiculous." She said, looking away from him, she patted her side of the bed. "But you know she'll be awake in a couple of hours, and if you wake her up, you're going to be the one getting her back to sleep."

"Dually noted." He nodded as he crawled across the bed toward Temperance. He pushed his feet under the covers and looked up toward the bassinet.

"Booth, she's fine." Temperance insisted.

He turned toward her and smiled. "I love her."

"I can see that." Temperance said with a tender smile, she placed her book on the bedside table and wrapped her arm around him, resting her head on his chest. "I love you."

"I love you, Bones." He whispered into her hair, kissing her tenderly on her head as he sighed, closing his eyes for a moment. "Are you warmer?"

"Much warmer." She whispered, pausing for a moment. "What was Antonia so upset about earlier?" She whispered softly.

"She's not a Booth." He replied, the words tumbling from his lips, and into her silence, and he waited for her response but nothing came.

"Yes, she is." Temperance finally whispered, and now she listened to his silence.

"Bones?"

She cuddled into him a little farther, noting that he was trying to catch her eyes, but she avoided them stealthily. "Her name on the birth certificate is Antonia Elyse Brennan-Booth." She sighed. "I didn't want to confuse her." She looked up at Booth and watched him shake his head in humored disbelief.

"So this could have all been avoided?"

"I suppose." She smiled. "But I think you handled it well." She said, patting his chest, she felt his chest rise and fall in a deep sigh, followed by a rolling chuckle.

"I have to talk to Parker." Booth said softly. "He seems to find great joy in irritating Antonia."

"Perhaps he's a sociopath." Temperance mumbled, hearing the scoff immediately, she let out a laugh. "That sounded worse than I meant for it to sound. He's a big brother, Booth. I am quite certain there were things that you told Jared that were untrue when you were growing up. It's a phase, he'll grow out of it. He's just becoming acclimated to the situation, and being a big brother is a very big step for him."

"I can't believe you're defending his behavior." Booth mumbled.

"Antonia needs to learn that she can't always believe what she hears, Booth." Temperance said, moving carefully against him, she sat up to look into his eyes. "It's better that she learn that from someone close to her that means no ill will, but simple teasing, then learning it in a real world situation that gets her hurt. I believe that being picked on is part of being a little sister. I do have an older brother, Booth…I am quite aware of how it feels. That's not to say you shouldn't talk to Parker about it. In fact, I can discuss it with him tomorrow, I am picking him up in the afternoon, and we're having lunch."

"So you two can conspire and discuss how to torture Antonia?" Booth laughed. "I don't think so. I'll talk to him." He paused and smiled at her. "I'm glad that you get along with him."

"He's a remarkable little boy, Booth." She said, leaning forward to drop a kiss on his lips. "Now get to sleep before it's interrupted by our hungry child." She said, cuddling down into the blankets, he lay down and wrapped his arm around her, cuddling with her as he reached to his side and switched off the light.

It didn't take long, at least it seemed that way for the two parents sleeping in the bed, before the tiny bundle in the bassinet began to make a very loud protest. Her cries were loud and squeaking, and Temperance jumped at the sudden interruption, though Booth was already halfway to the bassinet. He lifted her from the bassinet and began to rock her gently, with absolutely no calming effect. He talked and rocked, and Temperance watched for a moment as a bit of panic rose over his features. "Maybe she needs to be changed, or fed… maybe…"

"It's okay." Temperance said, walking to his side, the baby was quite angry, her squeaking screams were bordering on heartbreaking, but nothing that Temperance had never handled. She lifted the baby from his arms, her face red from her cries. "I'll check her diaper; see if she's hungry. She's due for food now anyway… you get some sleep." She said, watching him pout a bit, she shook her head. "You have work tomorrow. I have a week of maternity leave I saved up." She said, watching him watch the screaming baby. "Its okay, Booth."

"You're sure?"

Her response was a kiss on his lips, and a gentle smile. She then turned and walked out of the room with the crying newborn.

As soon as Temperance stepped out of the bedroom, another door down the hallway opened, and a mussy haired soon to be four year old stepped out of her bedroom. Temperance rocked the baby and stopped, her eyes on her other daughter as she scowled.

"Is she going to be quiet now?"

"I'm taking her to her room… I'm going to change her, and get her fed, and…"

"Is she going to cry like this all of the time?" Antonia sighed.

"She's a baby, sweetheart… babies cry."

"Can't she stay at the hospital until she's done with this part of being a baby? I have to have my beauty sleep, you know Mama."

"Your beauty sleep…" Temperance nodded, turning toward Gracie's room. "I'll put all of your complaints under advisement." She said, watching Antonia nod.

"Thank you." She said, turning around to walk back into her room, she closed the door behind her, leaving Temperance with the tiny screaming being in her arms.

Temperance changed the little girl, rocked her, fed her, talked to her and sang to her. Gracie would calm for a few moments, rest, and then begin again with a whole new wave of squealing cries. Temperance brought her downstairs, hoping the distance from the bedroom would help the other two sleeping souls continue their journey into dreamland.

She rocked the baby in the gliding rocker in front of the television, hoping the colors and soothing sounds would help to quell the baby's cries, but after nearly two hours of on and off crying, Temperance was beginning to feel weary.

"Hey… you're going to have to calm down soon, sweetheart…" She spoke in a calm, even tone. "You're just being stubborn, aren't you? You miss that ridiculous hospital… I don't miss it. I like having you here with us… crying or not…"

"Mommy, who are you talking to?" Antonia's voice wafted through the room as Temperance turned to see her at the end of the stairs.

"I'm talking to Gracie, baby."

"She doesn't understand what you're saying, mommy."

"Maybe not now… but she's watching me…" Temperance said, watching those big blue eyes staring up at her, without an ounce of sleepiness within them. "She responds to the sound of my voice…"

"She should be tired." Antonia sighed, stepping across the room, she walked up alongside her mother. "You should be in bed, young lady." She said to her baby sister. "Dark means its bedtime. I'm tired, please go to sleep." She said, watching the baby turn her head a little and make a noise, though obviously not interested in going to sleep in the least. "Maybe she's a vampire."

Temperance raised her eyebrows at her daughter curiously. "A vampire."

"Yeah… and cuz she's just a baby vampire, her fangs didn't come in yet…" Antonia said, showing her mother her teeth, she looked down at the baby. "Are you a little vampire, Gracie?" She said in a sweet voice. "Are you a vampire?"

"Toni?" Temperance said, getting her attention. "Your sister is not a vampire."

"But you won't know till she gets her teeth, right?"

"Why are you downstairs?"

"Oh." She said, shrugging. "I'm thirsty." She said, turning around, she walked toward the kitchen.

"Wait, wait…" Temperance said, standing up, the baby suddenly began to cry, and Temperance covered her forehead with her hand when Antonia turned around. "No drink right now, it's after two in the morning." She said, watching Antonia sigh and watch her mother's exasperated look.

"Here, Mommy… let me help." Antonia said, walking to the couch, she sat down, patted her lap.

"Baby, she's…"

"It's okay, mommy…Big A lets me hold JV if I sit still and hold him close… I can do this."

"Sweetheart… she's just upset… You should go up to bed."

"Here, Mommy…" She said, ignoring her mother's protest, she patted her lap. "Right here…" She patted her lap again.

Temperance finally got the fussing baby to stop crying for a moment, though she was simpering a bit, Temperance crouched down to her daughter carefully. She very carefully put Antonia's hands where she needed them to be, ensuring that the baby was not going anywhere, she sat down and pulled both of them into her lap, supporting them as Antonia looked down at her little sister, then back up at her mother. "Daddy is right."

"What is daddy right about?"

"He said she looks like you."

"Yeah?"

"You know what that means, right?" Antonia said, watching her baby sister stare at her for a moment, her tiny eyelids finally becoming heavy.

"What does that mean?"

"That she's a very pretty little baby." Antonia said, cuddling into her mother as she held both of her little girls.

"Well, I think I'm a bit biased… but I believe that both of our little girls are the prettiest little girls." Temperance whispered, kissing Antonia's forehead as the little girl rested against her, and both of them drifted to sleep in their mother's arms.


	23. Author's Note

Hey Readers!

So I thought about one more update to bring us into the next story in the saga. It was going to be a fast forward update of a couple of years, and it would introduce us to the next plot. However, upon further evaluation… It appears that the 'fast forward' update would be more appropriate for a jumping board for the next fic in this series. Therefore, the last chapter that you read, will be the last for Shadows in the Sun.

The next story is entitled:

**_Saints, Sinners, and Saviors_**

It takes place nearly four years in the future from this story. If you're interested, I will be posting the first update in the next couple of the days. If you think this should be the end of the saga, then by all means you can take it for what you would like. I appreciate your comments and thoughts, and hope that you'll stick with me for the next 'chapters' in our character's lives… and for the sake of my muse… I appreciate a hold on the 'blue pill' jokes… the man is lucky he can walk after all of the crap I have put him through in the past few stories… the last thing he needs to worry about is erectile dysfunction… that's right, I went there. Hope to see you at the next fic! Any closing comments are more than welcome! J

Colleen.

Greysisthecatspajamas

Twitter: gcatspjs


	24. Author's Note II

**Just to inform you. The new chapter in this saga has begun.**

**The title is: Saints, Sinners, and Saviors**

**I hope you enjoy! :)**


End file.
